Hospital flu cases drop as NHS on cold weather alert

The number of patients hospitalized with flu has fallen in England, but NHS bosses warn the cold snap could increase pressure on the health service in the coming days.

The start of January is normally the busiest time of year for the health service, which is why NHS England said the drop in flu cases was welcome.

Last week, 2,676 people were hospitalized with the virus, compared to just over 3,000 the week before.

But the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) has issued cold health alerts across England due to the freezing weather, meaning there is likely to be a significant impact on the health service in the coming days.

Cold health orange alerts are in effect from Friday 8:00 p.m. GMT to January 9, 10:00 a.m.

The UKHSA warns that impacts could include a likely increase in demand for health services, difficulties maintaining temperatures in hospitals and staffing issues due to external factors such as travel delays.

NHS England medical director Professor Meghana Pandit said: “It’s good news to see a fall in the number of people admitted to hospital with flu, partly thanks to the extraordinary efforts of NHS staff, with more than half a million more people vaccinated against flu compared to the same time last year.”

But she added: “The NHS is far from complacent as temperatures drop, likely to increase pressures in the new year and demand on services remaining high, with NHS 111 services recording their second busiest day in two years on Saturday.

“It is essential that the public continue to only use 999 and A&E for life-threatening emergencies and use NHS 111 and 111 online for other conditions.”

The drop in flu cases was expected as figures released before Christmas showed that the number of flu cases circulating in the community had started to decline. Similar trends are seen across the rest of the UK.

This was after the NHS published dire projections that flu hospitalizations could reach record levels, due to a mutated version of the virus circulating this winter.

Experts believe the virus could rebound again in the coming weeks.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said although the NHS was busy, there were encouraging signs with hospital bed occupancy and ambulance delays lower than this time last year.

But he said: “We still face intense pressures and with this bitter cold spell adding additional challenges, it is more vital than ever that eligible people get the flu vaccine and that people only go to the emergency room in an emergency.”