Winter flu hospital cases triple in a week
Patients waiting for hours in GP surgeries, wards ‘beyond’ full stretch, and 111 helpline calls at record high
The number of people being admitted to hospital with flu has tripled in a week. One in four patients in hospital with influenza is suffering from the deadliest strain – dubbed “Aussie flu” – heaping pressure on intensive care units, NHS statistics show. Meanwhile, the number of patients stuck in ambulances outside hospitals for at least an hour doubled in one week, while almost 17,000 faced delays of at least half an hour.
THE number of people being admitted to hospital with flu has tripled in a week, according to new figures showing the scale of a deepening NHS crisis.
One in four patients in hospital with influenza is suffering from the deadliest strain – dubbed “Aussie flu” – heaping pressure on intensive care units, the statistics show.
GPS last night said they were “flooded” with flu cases, with patients “waiting in reception for hours” and queues continuing long into the night.
The statistics also show the NHS 111 service became overwhelmed in the approach to the new year – with one in five callers – more than 22,000 patients – giving up in despair on the busiest day.
Meanwhile, the number of patients stuck in ambulances outside hospitals for at least an hour doubled in one week, while almost 17,000 faced delays of at least half an hour.
Health officials last night urged all those eligible for flu vaccinations to come forward.
The latest statistics suggest around 4.5million people in England are suffering “influenza-like symptoms”.
But medics are particularly alarmed by the rise in cases requiring hospital admission. Last week, 24 people died from flu – half the total of 48 killed so far this winter, with a 70 per cent rise in cases in intensive care. Pensioners, young children and those suffering from other health conditions are particularly vulnerable to flu, with the elderly making up the largest number of sufferers in hospital.
Rates of flu admissions went from 2.33 cases per 100,000 people to 6.82 in the past week, according to Public Health England. The almost three-fold rise suggested the total number of patients with flu in hospital rose from 1,280 to 3,750 in a week.
More than one in four of those cases was found to be the A (H3N2) strain of flu – dubbed “Aussie flu” after it fuelled the worst outbreak in Australia for more than two decades. The strain is of particular concern because of fears that current vaccinations do not provide effective protection to the elderly.
Separate figures from NHS England revealed the record strain on the 111 helpline. The number of people calling 111 rose by 21 per cent in a week, with 480,400 calls – up on 396,300 the previous week. The figure is the highest in a week since the service was launched.
On the busiest day, Dec 30, it received 112,098 calls, the statistics show. Of those, 22,548 were abandoned – 20 per cent of all calls. And just 30 per cent of calls were picked up within 60 seconds, against a 95 per cent target.
Meanwhile, GPS said surgeries were “horrendously pressurised” with some out-of-hours services reporting a 200 per cent rise in demand at peak times.
Dr Kieran Sharrock, a GP in Lincolnshire, told Pulse magazine that practices in his area had been “flooded with winter-related illnesses and are finding it hard to cope”.
“Reports of patients waiting in reception for hours are not unusual. I heard from some practices that reception staff and GPS have not been leaving their surgeries for up to two hours after official closing.”
Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the BMA’S GP committee, said he and other GPS in Leeds had just received a message “highlighting the pressures the local ambulance service are under and encouraging patients to make their own way to hospital where possible”.
Dr Eamonn Jessup, a GP in North Wales, said patients were being put at risk because GPS were under pressure to keep them out of hospital. He said: “There are patients who you would normally like to go into hospital who you are trying to keep at home and taking more of a risk than you normally would. It’s a tragedy.”
An NHS England spokesman said: “Hospitals, GPS, ambulances and other front-line NHS services have been ex- tremely busy between Christmas and New Year, reporting higher levels of respiratory illness and some indications of increasing patient illness severity and flu. These increased pressures were mirrored in the NHS 111 service.”
Prof Helen Stokes-lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPS, said: “The entire NHS is currently facing intense winter pressures and NHS staff in all areas are working incredibly hard to deliver the best care possible for their patients. Although we are reaching peak flu season, we want to reassure patients that the influenza vaccine remains the best protection against flu this winter period. It is not too late for patients to receive their vaccination, and we would encourage patients, particularly those in an at-risk groups … to have a flu jab from their GP practice or pharmacist.”
Saffron Cordery, from NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said: “The growing impact of flu comes as services are already at or beyond full stretch.”
Prof Paul Cosford, medical director at Public Health England, said: “Our data shows that more people are visiting GPS with flu symptoms and we are seeing more people admitted to hospitals with the flu.”