Flu hospitalisations in England soar as NHS braces for severe outbreak
Flu hospitalisations in England have jumped by more than 40 per cent in a week as the NHS braces for one of the worst outbreaks of the virus in recent years.
Analysis of NHS data by The Telegraph shows that rates are more than eight times higher than expected at this time of year.
On the current trajectory, admissions next week could pass the peak of the 2017-18 outbreak – one of the worst of the last 20 years – which led to nearly 30,000 deaths.
Flu hospitalisations are so high that they have overtaken Covid admissions for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
The rise could not come at a worse time for the NHS. It is already suffering the biggest treatment backlog in its history, which is set to be exacerbated by strikes by nurses and ambulance paramedics.
Source: The Telegraph, 15 December 2022