One in 18 hospital beds are occupied or closed by a festive bug, with 2,504 general and acute beds alone being taken up by flu patients – an increase of almost 40% on last week (1,795), the latest NHS England weekly figures have revealed.

There were a total of 2,629 patients with flu in hospital last week, including 125 in critical care beds – up 90% on the week before (66 w/e 8 Dec).

Cases of norovirus and RSV remain high with 711 beds taken up by norovirus patients, almost a quarter more than last year, and 127 children in hospital with RSV each day last week – a quarter more children when compared to the same period last year (94 w/e 17 December 2023).

A total of 28.5m vaccines have been delivered since the start of September (28,465,824 w/e 15 December) with a record number of beds open for this time of year (102,464) and 96,406 occupied.

NHS 111 answered one of the highest number of calls for this time of year last week, with 395,861 calls picked up by handlers, almost 10,000 more than last year and one in five more answered within a minute, a total of 75.7%.

Time lost to ambulance delays (28,654 w/e 15 December 2024) was reduced by 13.6% when compared to last week's data, with a tenth fewer handovers taking over an hour (13,100).

Measures have been put in place to manage the anticipated extra demand to emergency services, including upgraded 24-hour co-ordination centres, support for frequent users of A&E and strengthened same day emergency care services.

NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: ‘The NHS has been hit hard with an early festive flu season, putting increased pressure on staff as they prepare for the long winter ahead of us.'

Prof Powis said he expected viruses to continue to spread as families gather for Christmas and urged the public to think twice about seeing a loved one if they are seriously ill.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘This winter I want to see patient safety prioritised as we brace ourselves for the coming months. I'm asking trusts to focus on ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits.

"This Government's Plan for Change sets out our work to bring down waiting lists, alongside the 10 Year Health Plan that will deliver fundamental reform to build an NHS that is there for us all year round.'

Interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said: ‘Despite unrelenting pressure on beds and NHS 111 services, hard-working NHS staff – on duty throughout the festive period – will continue doing everything they can to see patients as quickly as possible.'

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said: ‘Ministers do not have any time to waste. They need to bring forward immediate plans to winterproof the NHS, as the Liberal Democrats have been calling for for months, and make sure this is the last winter crisis we put patients through.'

Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘Bed occupancy nationally remains above safe levels, which can create bottlenecks across urgent and emergency care pathways. Ambulances are still facing delays handing over patients and there are rising numbers of people stuck in hospital beds who are medically fit enough to leave.

‘The Government's new 10-Year Plan will need to deliver the wider reforms required to reduce pressure on the NHS next winter and beyond, including investing more funding and support in social care and prevention and helping to shift more care closer to people's homes.'