NHS still feeling winter pressures despite welcome fall in seasonal viruses

•    There were 1,491 patients in hospital with flu on average each day last week, down from 1,987 the week before.  
•    Norovirus levels also fell from an average of 1,106 adult beds closed due to diarrhoea and vomiting to 1,093 last week. 
•    Overall virus levels continued to drop, with 3,264 beds closed or occupied due to Covid-19, flu, norovirus and paediatric RSV last week. The week before this figure was 3,781 and last year it stood at 4,563.
•    Some 29.3% of ambulance handover delays took longer than 30 minutes and 9.4% were longer than an hour – this compares to 30.2% and 10.2% respectively the week before. 
•    Some 13,714 hospital beds on average each day were filled with patients no longer meeting the criteria to reside in hospital last week, down from 14,005 the week before.
•    On average, 95.8% of adult G&A beds were occupied last week, the same as the previous week.

Responding to the latest NHS urgent and emergency care situation reports, Rory Deighton, acute and community care director speaking on behalf of NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation said:

"Health leaders will welcome the drop in seasonal viruses, including the continued fall in flu levels. It is also good to see ongoing improvements in ambulance handover times and a fall in patients staying in hospital when they are medically fit enough to leave.

"But there is no doubt that NHS services are still incredibly busy and under immense pressure, and it is too early to say whether the worst of winter is now over. NHS leaders and their teams will continue to do all they can to keep patients safe and provide care as quickly as possible. It seems that the extensive planning ahead of winter and extraordinary effort of staff is resulting in more timely care – particularly with quicker ambulance handover times.

"However, health service leaders are under no illusions that hitting the NHS’s key performance targets will require sustained focus, realistic planning and continued support, especially in the context of workforce pressures, constrained finances and the potential for yet more industrial action."