"An early flu surge isn't something we would choose to see. Our corridors are already full of extremely ill patients with nowhere else to go, because there are no beds available to admit them. But I want to be clear: flu and seasonal illnesses are not the sole issue here. Things were already terrible. And winter is predictable. Flu is also predictable, and sometimes it will be a really bad year."
"And winter is predictable. Flu is also predictable, and sometimes it will be a really bad year. There's no point keeping on blaming external forces for deep seated problems, when we conspicuously fail to plan for these events and run our hospitals in a state of permacrisis so there is no reserve left. "It's time to acknowledge the political failure that has left us here, and to prioritise tackling hospital flow an"
An early flu surge has increased demand on Emergency Departments in England, with 56% more flu patients occupying general and acute hospital beds in the week 24–30 November 2025. An average of 1,649 type-1 general and acute beds were occupied by flu patients per day, compared with 1,060 the prior year. Seasonal illnesses have contributed to hundreds more bed closures year-on-year. Ambulance handovers showed small improvements, but the number of medically fit patients unable to be discharged rose from 11,969 to 13,232. Daily ward occupancy stood at 94.2% and staff absences reached 51,924, up 257 year-on-year.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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