NHS fears of a potential ‘quad-demic’ are rising with a 350% increase in influenza cases and an 86% rise in norovirus cases in hospital compared to same week last year – alongside concerns about rising COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) levels in hospitals.
New weekly figures published for the first time this year, show the NHS is going into winter under more pressure than ever before with an average of 1,099 people in hospital with flu every day last week compared to 243 in the same week last year. There was an average of 1,390 patients with covid in hospital beds each day last week, and 142 children in hospital each day with RSV, along with 756 patients with norovirus – an 86% increase from a year ago.
Efforts of NHS staff mean more than 27 million vaccinations have already been carried out for flu, COVID-19 and RSV but the NHS is urging eligible people to get jabbed without delay as virus levels rise. NHS staff are also being urged to get their jabs to protect themselves and those around them.
Record numbers of patients are in hospital for this time of year, with an average of 96,587 hospital beds occupied each day – more than at this point in any other year – with pressure expected to increase further in the coming weeks.
The NHS has put measures in place to manage extra demand during winter, which include upgrading 24-hour live data centres, strengthening same day emergency care and offering more falls services for older people.
NHS National Medical Director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “The NHS is busier than it has ever been before heading into winter, with flu and norovirus numbers in hospital rising sharply – and we are still only at the start of December, so we expect pressure to increase and there is a long winter ahead of us. For a while there have been warnings of a ‘tripledemic’ of COVID-19, flu and RSV this winter, but with rising cases of norovirus this could fast become a ‘quad-demic’.”
The weekly situation report publications can be found here: Statistics » Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports 2024-25.