Britain’s hospitals are faltering as number of patients battling severe winter bugs surge — with senior medics describing it as the ‘straw that is broke the camel’s back’.
The crisis, driven by flu but exacerbated by the illnesses of norovirus, RSV and Covid has already led to a dozen hospitals declaring critical incidents meaning they are struggling to provide safe care to patients.
But official data, analysed by MailOnline and crafted into a searchable tool shows some NHS hospitals are faring worse than others.
Nationally, about one in 20 beds in the NHS in England are being taken up by patients struck down with one of the ‘quad-demic’ bugs.
However, this website can reveal this rises to almost one in five beds at some of the hardest hit trusts.
The latest NHS data, going up to December 29, suggests 19 per cent of the some 550 beds at East Cheshire NHS Trust were occupied by a patient suffering from a quad-demic bug.
This figure, which includes beds or ‘closed’ as part of quarantine measures to stop highly contagious infections like the winter vomiting bug norovirus from spreading patient-to-patient was the highest in the country.
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London came second and third respectively recording 11 and 10 per cent of their beds being occupied by those infected with winter illnesses.
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By pathogen, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust recorded the biggest proportion of general admission beds being taken up by flu patients at seven per cent (112 beds).
This was followed by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust at six per cent and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust at five per cent.
East Cheshire had the highest proportion of beds with someone struck down by the winter vomiting bug norovirus, with seven per cent taken up by a patient or ‘blocked off’ as part of internal quarantine measures.
This more than double the proportion compared to the next most badly hit trusts, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the previously mentioned Bolton, which recorded three per cent of beds occupied by such patients.
Norovirus, which can trigger extreme vomiting and diarrhoea, can normally be managed at home for most patients but vulnerable people like young children and the elderly can need hospital care.
East Cheshire, Royal Cornwall and Bolton also recorded the highest proportion of beds occupied by RSV patients across the NHS in England at 7 per cent for East Cheshire and 3 per cent each for Royal Cornwall and Bolton.
RSV, short for respiratory syncytial virus, is a common winter bug that for most people causes of coughs and colds but it can be dangerous for very young children.
Bolton was one of several trusts to introduce mask requirements on its premises this week in a bid to curb the spread of viruses on its wards.
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Covid, while nowhere near the levels seen at the height of the pandemic, is still draining NHS resources, particularly in London.
Three trusts in capital Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recorded two to three per cent of beds being occupied by Covid patients needing hospital care.
Nationally about one in 20 of the some 100,000 beds in the NHS were occupied by someone suffering a winter virus.
While still the minority, others being taken up by accidents, health emergencies like strokes and patients recovering from surgery, senior medics have for years warned the NHS lacks the overall capacity to deal with even small waves of illnesses.
For patients this can lead to agonising days long waits in A&E or being subjected to inhumane ‘corridor care’ due to a lack of beds.
NHS ‘beds’ aren’t just the physical piece of furniture, they are also a measure of the number of staff available to look after patients in them, meaning the number available can vary slightly day-to-day.
Health service data shows that over nine in 10 of all NHS beds were occupied by a patient as of December 29.
Multiple hospital bosses have cited a surge in emergency admissions for respiratory infections like flu as part of their reasons for declaring a critical incident.
Multiple NHS hospitals have now declared ‘critical incidents’ as the health service continues to be battered by flu admissions amid an ongoing ‘quademic’ of winter viruses
Speaking yesterday, the NHS’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, warned demand on hospitals is showing ‘no signs of letting up’.
‘The latest data shows flu cases skyrocketed to around 5,000 a day in hospitals at the end of last year and multiple trusts across the country declaring incidents to help them to manage additional strain on services,’ he said.
‘On top of flu hospitals are also seeing continual pressure from Covid, RSV and norovirus cases, as the ‘quad-demic’ continues to increase pressure across services.’
Other hospitals, while not declaring critical incidents have warned they are extremely busy with some going as far as restricting visitors from seeing patients in an echo of some of the darkest days of the Covid-pandemic
There are also fears the situation could get even worse in the coming days.
The data on beds represents the situation NHS was facing before a wave of freezing weather hit the UK.
Speaking ahead of the mercury dropping health chiefs said they feared the ‘extreme’ and ‘dangerous’ cold spell will add to pressure on already stretched hospitals.
Just this week The UK Health Security Agency extended its ‘amber’ cold-health alert, until 12pm Sunday January 12. The previous alert was due to expire today (WED).
Snow in Allenheads, Northumberland, photographed on Thursday morning. Speaking ahead of the mercury dropping health chiefs said they feared the ‘extreme’ and ‘dangerous’ cold spell will add to pressure on already stretched hospitals
Cold temperatures often lead to increasing numbers of vulnerable people falling severely ill with winter pathogens, like the fl.
This is due to several factors such as as the body become weakened by trying to keep warm, viruses can replicate more easily in the cold air breathed in and pathogens themselves transmiting more readily as people spend more time indoors.
UKHSA itself has warned the weather would likely cause ‘significant impacts across health and social care services’, including a ‘rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions’.
Infectious disease experts have also warned the situation could get worse before as people who were infected via socialising indoors over Christmas and the New Year fall ill or their condition gets worse and they need NHS care.
There are also concerns that another virus human metapneumovirus (hMPV) could pile yet more pressure on the health service in the coming weeks.
Official data shows one in 10 children tested for respiratory infections in hospital were positive for hMPV as of December 23.
This is more than double the proportion of very young children that tested positive for the virus in late November.
While hMPV mostly causes a mild illness that is similar to the common cold, very young children, alongside the elderly and those weakened immune systems like cancer patients, are at increased risk of severe illness.
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Concerns came after distressing footage of Chinese hospitals being flooded with hMPV patients.
However, UK officials say levels in Britain are currently what would be expected for this time of year.
Despite the rising pressures, latest official data shows just under one in four frontline healthcare workers in England have had the flu vaccine this year.
The Government report found overall just 24.3 per cent of staff responsible for direct patient care have been vaccinated for influenza.
Analysis of data showed vaccination rates are lower in every staff group, including NHS hospital staff, paramedics and GPs this year than in the 2023 season.
