Hospitalisations due to flu in London have reached the highest point this winter, new figures show, with admissions jumping two-thirds in a week.
An average of 446 patients were in hospital in London with flu in the week up to January 28, a rise of 68 per cent on the week before.
The number of beds occupied by flu patients peaked at 485 on January 27, more than double the figure reported on the same day last year.
Flu infections are surging at a later point this year than last winter, when cases peaked in the capital in mid-January. The highest daily total of flu patients was recorded on January 13 last year, with 500 beds occupied.
Separate figures published by the UK Health Security Agency show that flu infections appear to be rising, with influenza positivity rates jumping by 2.6 per cent in the week up to January 25.
Uptake of the flu vaccine has also fallen from last season, with just over three-quarters (77.6 per cent) of people aged 65 and over jabbed against the virus.
An average of 49,212 NHS staff were off sick last week, up nearly 4 per cent from 47,468 the previous week.
Health bosses said the NHS was “still in the thick of a challenging winter” amid rising delays in ambulance patients waiting to be handed over to A&E.
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: “Last week was evidence of why the NHS needed to grow its core bed numbers – with occupancy at its highest level this winter, fuelled by rising numbers of flu and norovirus admissions, and more than 13,000 patients remaining in hospital each day who are fit to be discharged because of ongoing capacity issues in social and community care.
“NHS staff have worked tirelessly to boost capacity and execute key steps of the urgent and emergency care recovery plan.”
