Overview
- NHS England’s first winter report shows an average of 1,717 flu patients in hospital each day last week, including 69 in critical care, up 56% on 2024.
- The service says levels are the highest for this point in the year and is bracing for an unprecedented wave.
- Junior doctors represented by the BMA are scheduled to strike from 17 to 22 December, raising concerns over staffing during a rising flu wave.
- Nearly 17 million flu jabs have been delivered so far this season, with health leaders urging eligible people to get vaccinated.
- Operational pressures are mixed, with ambulance handover delays easing year on year and beds occupied by suspected norovirus far lower than last winter.