NHS ‘wards full to bursting’ and flu peak is yet to come as schools will cause ‘social mixing’

The senior NHS doctor has warned that the flu peak is yet to come and there is some 5,000 patients in hospitals across England.

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care said that “wards are now full to bursting.”

Several NHS trusts have declared critical incidents amid increased pressure in A&E departments with people being treated in corridors.

Prof Redhead told the PA news agency, “Wards are now full to bursting and that pressure is feeding back into A&E departments, with patients being treated in environments not usually used for clinical care.

“Most patients would recognise when they’re being treated in a corridor but those aren’t the environments, we would want to treat patients in. That is difficult for colleagues and patients who are treated in that environment.”

He added there is “some evidence” the flu epidemic is peaking, but he warned, “We’ve also got schools going back and that can cause different social mixing.”

He continued, “It’s too early to say it’s definitively peaked. I would hope there would be a peak in the next one to two weeks.

“But we’ve also got that cold snap at the moment, which will also put pressure on emergency services.

“We have pressure in emergency care all year round but the winter, with the added pressures of flu and other viruses, really makes that a really stark feeling of pressure.”

He said that in general “most patients coming into hospital are elderly,” there is also younger people coming into hospital with chronic conditions such as asthma.

He said, “The flu and cold weather usually affects the elderly and most vulnerable, they are the patients coming into hospitals,” he said.

He added, “In my own experience, it’s generally patients who have not had a vaccine or have underlying conditions which means the vaccine hasn’t provided the underlying protection we would hope.”

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he felt “distressed and ashamed” after learning the experiences some patients are experiencing in the NHS.