NHS bosses say England’s hospitals are being hit by a “tidal wave” of flu and other winter viruses.

Figures released by NHS England showed that there were an average of almost 1,900 beds occupied by flu patients last week – a 70% increase on the previous week.

That’s three times more than last year, with doctors warning they are struggling to contain the spread of the virus within hospitals as well as seeing more patients admitted.

COVID, RSV and the vomiting bug norovirus are also causing problems.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, said: “The wave of flu cases and other seasonal viruses in hospitals is really worrying for patients and the NHS – the figures are raising our ‘quad-demic’ concerns.

“While the NHS has plans in place to manage the extra demand over the busy winter period, with a week left to book your vaccine, I would recommend booking ahead to protect yourself from serious illness and avoid ‘festival flu’. Cannot overemphasize the importance of.

Dr Adrian Boyle of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said flu vaccination rates this year were disappointing, adding that much of the spread was now occurring within hospitals.

He said the pressure on A&E and the rest of the emergency system was the worst compared to last winter – and could reach levels seen in 2022-23, which would have been considered one of the worst winters in a generation for delays and waits. Is.

Combined, winter viruses are occupying about 5% of beds, but Dr. Boyle said that’s enough to cause “real problems” because hospitals were already so busy over the winter that about 95% of beds were filled. Due to which very little capacity was left.

“There doesn’t need to be a huge increase. It’s a real struggle at the moment. We are seeing long waiting times in many hospitals, where there is a ward’s worth of patients in A&E because there are no beds available. Is.”

Figures for November show that 28% of patients waited longer than the target time of four hours in A&E.

In a meeting with health leaders earlier this week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told hospitals to prioritize safety and longest wait times rather than worrying about targets.