This year’s flu season shows no signs of slowing down, with numbers of people hospitalised already at record levels for this time of year.

NHS boss Sir Jim Mackey warned last month that this winter ‘will be one of the toughest our staff have ever faced’.

Now, the statistics are following through, with an average of 1,717 flu patients in hospital beds in England each day last week, including 69 in critical care, according to the first of this year’s NHS winter situation reports.

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 is also well above levels seen at this point in both 2023 (243 patients) and 2022 (772).

This could mean the wave is just starting early, but experts fear it means it will grow to a hig

See Full Page