Average of 3,140 people in hospital with flu each day last week, an all-time high for this time of year
The NHS is on “high alert” as the number of people in hospital with flu reached the highest ever for this time of year amid continuing strikes.
An average of 3,140 people were in hospital with flu each day by the end of last week, an increase of 18% compared with the previous week. At the same time last year, an average of 2,629 patients were in hospital, while in 2023 the number was 648.
However, flu cases have begun to slow in some parts of the country, although the NHS has emphasised that the service is “not out of the woods”.
In the north-west of England, hospital cases of flu fell by 4% over the past week. But flu cases continued to rise in other parts of England, with patients in hospital up 39% in the east of England and 40% in the south-west.
