REVEALED: The number of beds taken up by flu patients at Northampton General Hospital, as NHS bosses fear ‘twindemic’

Pressure from flu on the NHS continues to grow with cases in hospital now more than seven times higher than last month, the latest figures from NHS England show.

New data shows there were 3,746 patients a day in hospitals with flu from December 19 to 25, up from 520 a month ago in the last week of November. Of those, 267 were in critical care beds.

NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “Sadly, these latest flu numbers show our fears of a ‘twindemic’ have been realised.”

He added: “As well as flu, the NHS continues to be under significant pressure, with high bed occupancy, more than 12,000 beds taken up by patients medically fit for discharge, and demand for the 111 service remaining high, so please do make the most of 111 online, and only call 999 or visit A&E in an emergency.”

How many beds are occupied by flu patients at Northampton General Hospital?

Out of 137 hospitals, Northampton General Hospital ranked 54th for the average total number of beds occupied by flu patients in that week - with a total of 24 patients. Of those, four were in critical care beds.

That figure rose from 14 patients the week before (December 12 to 18) with just one of those patients in a critical care bed. This marks a 71 per cent increase in beds occupied by flu patients at Northampton General Hospital in just one week in December.

Kettering General Hospital, in contrast, had no beds occupied by flu patients at all in the week 19 to 25 December. Five beds were occupied by flu patients from 12 to 18 December and, of those, four were in critical care.

"This is no time to be complacent”

As viruses re-circulate after a hiatus during the pandemic the NHS has continued to see hospital cases grow week on week, up almost 80 per cent in seven days (from 2,088 w/e 18 Dec).

This time last year, there were only 34 patients in hospitals across England with flu, two of whom were in critical care.

NHS staff have also been impacted by the spread of viruses this winter, with Covid absences each day up almost half of last month, from 5,448 to 8,029.

The total number of staff off sick was up a fifth at the end of November, from 52,556 to 63,296 a day.

Hospital capacity continues to be impacted by delayed discharges, with 12,313 beds a day taken up by patients who no longer met the criteria to reside - but as NHS staff pulled out all the stops to ensure as many patients as possible were able to spend Christmas with loved ones at home - this was the lowest figure since August 2022.

Pressure on the 111 service also remained high, with nearly 600,000 calls (599,622) last week – up more than two thirds from 365,338 this time last year.

Professor Powis said: “It is clear this is no time to be complacent and the risk of serious illness is very real, so with nearly 350,000 available vaccination appointments next week it is important that everyone eligible comes forward and gets their Covid and flu jabs at the earliest opportunity.”