Official figures show that the number of hospital admissions due to Covid and flu in England has doubled in just two weeks.
NHS data shows almost 4,000 Covid patients went to bed in the week ending December 31, a rise of more than two-thirds since the start of December.
There were now more than a thousand flu patients in hospital every day, twice as many as a fortnight earlier.
Health leaders today warned that the “double whammy” of the respiratory virus surge and junior doctors’ strikes is a “perfect storm” putting pressure on the NHS.
Doctors are in the middle of a devastating six-day strike, with around 200,000 appointments expected to be cancelled.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, the charity’s representative body, has called on the government and the British Medical Association (BMA) to end their dispute in the interest of patients and staff suffering from unbearable stress .
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The NHS data provides a snapshot of the pressure on hospitals in the week ending December 31 as the health service finalized contingency plans to deal with the strikes.
The number of hospital patients testing positive for Covid has increased for the fifth week in a row.
In the week before New Year’s Eve, an average of 3,929 Covid patients went to bed each day, eight percent more than the previous week and 68 percent more than at the beginning of December.
According to NHS England, an average of 1,312 people were in hospital with flu every day last week, with 81 of them in intensive care beds.
The total is more than a third (39 percent) higher than the 942 the previous week and more than double the 648 two weeks earlier.
This is the highest figure so far this winter, but is still well below the corresponding figure at this point a year ago (5,441), when the UK was in the middle of its worst flu season in a decade.
However, levels of the winter vomiting virus norovirus fell by 16 percent in a week, occupying an average of 377 adult hospital beds, compared with 451 the week before.
Sir Julian said the new data showed that “significant pressure continues to mount across the health system”.
“The impact of a six-day strike by junior doctors this week, following a three-day strike before Christmas, will be felt across the already hard-hit NHS,” he added.
“In winter, guaranteed to be one of the busiest times of the year for the NHS, a double wave of strikes on top of ongoing pressures, including increased hospital admissions due to Covid-19, is a perfect storm. “
“Severe long-term staff shortages – there are currently more than 121,000 vacancies in NHS trusts in England – are causing staff morale to be low as high workloads take their toll.”
“Recently, stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses accounted for more than 27 per cent of all sickness absence in the NHS.”
“The government and unions must act quickly to resolve this long-running dispute and prevent further strikes in the interest of patients and staff.”
The latest industrial action by trainee doctors began at 07:00 on Wednesday and will last until 07:00 next Tuesday. This is followed by a 72-hour strike in the week before Christmas.
Both strikes are part of a long-running pay dispute that has already led to 1.2 million hospital and outpatient appointments being postponed.
Rory Deighton, director of the NHS confederation’s acute network, said the NHS was “obviously struggling to cope” as it struggled through one of its worst winters.
He said patients were “paying the price” for the industrial action and warned that severe weather would cause further problems and staff would be forced to deal with the impact of flooding.
Health leaders today warned that the “double whammy” of the respiratory virus surge and junior doctors’ strikes is a “perfect storm” putting pressure on the NHS. In the photo: Striking young doctors yesterday on the picket line outside Homerton Hospital in London
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Junior doctors now receive a basic salary of £32,300 in their first year, while doctors with three years’ experience earn £43,900. The eldest earns £63,100
Mr Deighton added: “Several trusts have reported critical incidents this week and our members are concerned about the capacity they have available to meet the increased demand.”
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust reported a critical incident at 9am today “due to ongoing pressure in the hospital and high levels of attendance at our emergency department over the past three days”.
One of those hospitals reported critical incidents this week and urged the public to quickly pick up family members ready for discharge to free up beds for new arrivals.
Professor Julian Redhead, national clinical director for emergency care at NHS England, said the health service entered 2024 “in a very difficult position” and also praised the “incredible hard work” of staff to deal with rising winter virus numbers Industrial action and demand rises after the Christmas holidays.
He added: “This latest round of strikes will not only have an impact this week, but will have a lasting impact over the coming weeks and months as we struggle to restore services and meet the high demand for services. completed.”
Several hospitals have called on paramedics to return to work for safety reasons.
More than twenty such applications were submitted to the BMA, most of which were rejected.
NHS England said it would create a file of all patients suffering harm or near misses as a result of the BMA rejections.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
