Friday 3 January 2025
An increase in flu hospitalisations is causing severe pressure in already overstretched Emergency Departments.
This is the message from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine as NHS England data shows hospitalisations due to flu quadrupled ahead of New Year.
The latest NHS England winter ‘situation reports’ which have been published today (3 January) revealed last week (23 – 29 Dec) there were an average of 4,254 patients with flu in major hospitals each day – almost 3.5 times higher than the same week last year – including 211 a day in critical care.
The data also showed between 16 – 22nd December, on average, 12,088 patients remained in hospital each day even though they were deemed medically well enough to be discharged.
The news follows the announcement from The Department of Health and Social Care of an independent commission to bring about social care reform, though changes are not likely to come into force until 2028.
Dr Adrian Boyle, President of RCEM said: “Emergency Medicine staff are resigned to a severe increase in pressure over the winter period, however this year the increase in flu cases has heaped even more pressure on already overstretched departments.
“What this will mean in real terms is an increase in A&E waiting times and an increase in avoidable deaths.
“We have a system that is chronically overwhelmed. A chronic lack of beds and an unreformed social care system means that patients cannot be discharged when they are well enough. Any additional pressure, such as the current increase in flu, means A&E waiting rooms become more and more crowded and ambulances cannot offload people. It is ultimately our patients that bear the brunt of this.
“We welcome the Health Secretary’s announcement of plans for social care reform, but it will come far too late to minimise the suffering currently being experienced by staff and patients in Emergency Departments across the country.”
A graphical representation of the data can be found here.
