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TEAMS from the Royal Berkshire Hospital have joined those around the country in warning against increasing pressure on health services through winter.
Frontline doctors are concerned that winter virus cases are “creeping up,” placing more and more pressure on hospitals.
New data from the NHS shows that the number of patients presenting with flu was up by more than 50% last week– an average of 234 a day across the country.
Norovirus cases are also up, figures show, having risen by 15% last week from the week before, and a 28% increase on the same week last year.
This amounts to an average of more than 90 beds in use per trust per day last week.
RSV cases were also on the rise: an average of 146 children were in hospital each day with the virus, an increase of more than 10% compared to this time last year.
Despite rises, plans for the winter increases were put in place earlier than ever before by the health service, which the NHS says are “paying off.”
The plans saw new “control centres” to help patients find the appropriate services faster, as well as provisions of extra beds and ambulances, and the expansion of the virtual wards programme.
More than 100,000 beds are available on average each day thanks to these measures, up by 1,400 compared to this time last year.
There are currently 1,200 more patients being treated as a result compared to that time.
Calls to the NHS 111 service were also on the increase, with a rise from 315,788 this time last year to 358,797– an increase of 14%.
Staff absences are also causing issues, with an increase of more than 800 staff absent on average each day last week compared to the previous week.
This represents more than 47,000 people across the NHS each day.
It comes as the NHS prepares for further strikes by staff due to take place, including the longest-ever consecutive strike by junior doctors set for next month.
A three-day walkout is due to take place from Wednesday, December 23, followed by the six-day strike planned to begin on Wednesday, January 3, in the ongoing dispute about conditions and pay.
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, said: “This latest data will come as no surprise to those of us working on the frontline, who are seeing the number of people coming to emergency departments and patients in hospital with viruses like flu, RSV, and norovirus creeping up, and continued Covid pressure.
“The measures we set out in our urgent and emergency care recovery plan and winter preparations earlier this year are having an impact, with more than twice the number of NHS 111 calls being answered within a minute, and almost 1,400 more general and acute hospital beds open compared to the same time last year.
“Demand on hospitals and staff remains high, and as we experience more spells of cold weather and people gathering indoors for festive events and end of year celebrations, we expect to see a continued increase in winter viruses spreading in the community and in some cases, this will lead to hospital admissions.
“And now we are also preparing to mitigate the impact of the latest strikes this Christmas, once more prioritising urgent and emergency care – including emergency surgery – to protect patient safety and ensure those in life-saving emergencies can receive the best possible care.
“So the public can continue to play their part by using NHS services in the usual way and calling 999 in an emergency and using NHS 111 for other health conditions, and by getting their flu and Covid jabs if eligible.”
Dom Hardy, Chief Operating Officer, for Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS FT said: “Our Emergency Department has been seeing unprecedented levels of demand with our records for attendances having been broken multiple times over the past year.
“As a Trust, we continue to do everything we can to improve our services and provide high quality care for patients who need our help – including improving triage services, extending our same-day emergency care, and opening a new older people’s space in our Emergency Department.
“However, we know up to half of patients currently attending our Emergency Department could instead consider using other NHS services such as NHS 111, Urgent Care Centre or self-care at home.
“Our clinicians’ priority is always providing high quality care to everyone, but we can all play a part in supporting our local NHS by getting vaccinated, and using NHS 111 online.”
