More than 40 patients treated at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust amid 'super flu outbreak'
The number of serious flu cases has jumped 55% in a week with 41 patients treated at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust.
The NHS is facing an unprecedented flu wave this winter with “no peak in sight yet” according to England’s top doctors.
Flu season started earlier this winter with figures jumping since the end of November to an unprecedented high with the H3N2 'super flu' strain.
New data shows hospital admission rates for flu are highest among people over 75 and children under five leading to more hospitalisations and creating more pressure on NHS. It showed 41 patients treated for flu across Bedfordshire’s two hospitals for the week ending December7.
The first NHS winter flu reports for this year showed an average of 23 flu patients treated by the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust each day in the week to November 30, with one in critical care. There were no flu patients admitted at hospital the same time last year.
Across England, an average of 1,717 flu patients were in hospital beds in the last week of November, including 69 in critical care.
However new figures show an average of 2,660 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, up from 1,717 the previous week.
This is 56% higher than the equivalent numbers for the same week in 2024, when the total was 1,098 with 39 in critical care. It was also well above the levels seen at the same time in 2023 and 2022.
This year's flu season started earlier than usual and is yet to reach a peak, meaning pressure on hospitals is likely to grow even further in the run-up to Christmas.
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national medical director for urgent and emergency care, said flu cases are now "incredibly high" and the latest figures "confirm our deepest concerns: the health service is bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter".
He added: "The NHS has prepared earlier for winter than ever before, but despite that we know that ballooning flu cases coinciding with strikes may stretch our staff close to breaking point in the coming weeks.
"With just a couple of weeks left to ensure maximum immunity from flu for Christmas Day, I urge anyone eligible to come forward to get their jab."
Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS organisations, said: "It is clear that the flu season has hit much earlier and much harder than in previous years, piling pressure onto NHS services which have already had one of their busiest summers ever.
He added it is "deeply worrying" the NHS will have to mitigate the disruption of further strikes as pressure on services worsens.
Resident doctors in England are due to go on strike for five days from 7am on December 17 until 7am on December 22, as they continue their fight with the Government over training and pay.
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King's Fund health think tank, said the data "confirms the NHS is entering the most challenging period of the year".
She added: "Rising flu waves and industrial action are all adding strain to a system which is already struggling to deliver timely care for patients.
"The flu season started unusually early this year and is yet to peak, so it is too soon to know how long this surge will be sustained for."
This winter, there are more ways to access care than ever before, making it simpler and quicker for people to get the help they need.
Pharmacies give patients access to quick, easy support – including prescription-only medicines – for common conditions including sore throat, sinusitis and earache. Nearly all (98.7%) GP practices offer online consultation requests for patients, with 8 million benefiting in October.
For more serious cases, more urgent treatment centres – where patients can get care for a range of illnesses and injuries – have been opening across England
Click here for information, and how to treat flu symptoms.