‘Superflu’ chaos as dire warning sent to Brits before Christmas | UK | News
Hospitals in the UK are bracing for a “tidal wave of flu” after seasonal demand and doctors’ strikes could push the NHS to breaking point. The UK is in the midst of a record-breaking flu season, and new research shows a significant increase in the number of patients in hospital beds battling the virus.
Data shows 2,660 patients were hospitalized with the disease last week alone; 55% increase compared to the previous week. It also showed ambulance calls had increased by nearly 49,000 compared to last year’s figures, increasing stress both in and on the way to hospital. The combination of a spike in both flu and norovirus led health secretary Wes Streeting to warn of “a wave of flu sweeping through our hospitals”.
He added: “We are working with the NHS to ensure it can deal with this situation in the best way possible.”
Writing in the Health Service Journal, a hospital chief said: “Flu forecasts look alarming. If it happens as predicted, the second week of January could be a massacre – a full-blown flu storm, a post-Christmas surge and the lagging effect of the epidemic.” [strikes]”
NHS national medical director Professor Meghana Pandit has warned that the UK is now facing a worst-case scenario, warning that doctors, nurses and paramedics are all “stretched to their limits”.
He added: “With record demand for A&E and ambulances and a junior doctors’ strike looming, this unprecedented super flu wave is leaving the NHS facing the worst-case scenario for this time of year, with staff being pushed to the limit to continue providing the best possible care to patients.”
Hospital bosses have also warned that this year’s flu season is coming earlier than expected, saying some statistics are skewed and “misleading” due to different timings.
Stuart McDonald, an expert in public health and demography, wrote: “I could be wrong, but my current view is that this is exaggerated.
“Flu has arrived early, so it is breaking records for ‘time of year’, but only at the intermediate threshold and could reach a lower peak than last year, let alone in 2022-23.”
