Hospitals in England face mounting pressure as norovirus cases have surged 45% in just one week, reaching a new winter high. Norovirus patients occupied an average of 823 beds daily last week, up from 567 the previous week. The spike comes despite falling flu cases and some improvements in ambulance response times, with a cold snap predicted this weekend.
The latest figures from NHS England show the vomiting virus now affects more patients than at this point last year, when patients occupied 784 beds daily. Norovirus cases typically don't peak until February, raising concerns about further increases in the coming weeks.
Hospital bed occupancy for general and acute care reached 94.5% in the week ending January 18, the highest level for mid-January since 2020.
Flu cases meanwhile dropped 8% for the second consecutive week to an average of 2,519 daily patients, down from 2,725 the previous week.
Ambulance handover delays improved marginally. Last week, 33% of ambulance arrivals faced delays of at least 30 minutes, down from 37% the previous week. Delays exceeding an hour affected 12% of handovers, or 11,183 patients, compared to 15% the week before.
Streeting acknowledges NHS challenges
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, speaking to local BBC radio stations throughout Thursday morning, described the scale of the task ahead. «I've found, as Health Secretary, that turning around the NHS is a bit like turning a tanker», he said.
Streeting acknowledged persistent problems, particularly corridor care. «But we still this winter have these issues with people on trolleys on corridors…hospitals bend over backwards to make sure the care is safe but nobody can say it is dignified being treated on a trolley in a corridor», he said.
He pointed to inherited challenges facing the health service. «NHS was in such a state when we inherited it, and it does take time to deal with the legacy issues», Streeting said, referencing hospital waiting lists, staffing capacity and buildings «that were literally crumbling».
The Health Secretary said his aim for the next year is to achieve «[...] faster progress, whether that's on waiting lists, whether that's in urgent and emergency care, whether that's on access to general practice, the things that people really care about, experience and value in the NHS».
NHS cites staff efforts amid pressures
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, acknowledged the current strain. «A rise in this vomiting virus is leaving hospitals under pressure. Norovirus cases didn't peak until February last winter, so we're monitoring closely for further increases ahead of another predicted cold snap this weekend [...]», she said.
Despite the pressures, Pandit highlighted improvements compared to previous winters. «[...] we are clearly seeing shorter waiting times for patients than previous winters. This is a testament to the incredible hard work of NHS staff and the early and detailed preparation and planning they did ahead of winter this year», she stated.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).