Flu hitting much earlier and harder than in previous years, health leaders warn

• Latest figures show an average of 1,717 patients were in a hospital bed every day last week because of flu – the highest on record for this time of year.
• This is more than seven times higher than the same week in 2023/24 (243), and more than 50% higher than last year, when this figure was 1,098.
• But overall virus levels are down compared to the same week last year, with 2,943 adult and paediatric beds closed or occupied due to Covid-19, flu, Norovirus and paediatric RSV last week. Last year, this figure stood at 3,546. This is largely down to drops in norovirus and Covid-19 levels compared to last year.
• Delayed discharges were up compared to last year, with 13,232 beds each day filled with patients no longer meeting the criteria to reside in hospital last week. Last year, this figure was 11,969. 
• Ambulance handover delays were also better than last year, with 29.7% of delays taking longer than 30 minutes last week compared to 36.1% in 2024.
• Some 10.0% of handover delays were longer than an hour. Last year, this figure was 16.4%. 

Responding to NHS England’s latest urgent and emergency care daily situation reports data, Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said:

“It is clear that the flu season has hit much earlier and much harder than in previous years, piling pressure on to NHS services which have already had one of their busiest summers ever.

“NHS service leaders are doing all they can to ensure all patients are kept safe and receive the care they need. But it is deeply worrying that against this backdrop of mounting pressures the NHS will also have to mitigate the disruption of further strikes, which could have a huge impact on patients.

“It is welcome to see that despite ambulances dealing with increased demand and higher handover numbers compared to last year, delays at hospitals are lower. Though higher levels of delayed discharges are concerning, especially as this often caused by a lack of follow-up social or community care for patients. Discharge delays coupled with rising demand can create bottlenecks in hospitals and lead to longer ambulance handover delays and A&E waits.

“Health service leaders are, however, doing all they can to ensure they are also providing patients with better access to GPs, urgent treatment and walk-in centres, and community support for falls and frailty.”