Norovirus is continuing to pile pressure on NHS hospitals with over 40,000 bed days lost to the vomiting bug in February alone.
The latest data shows there were 1,094 patients a day in hospital with norovirus last week, down slightly on the week before (1,134) but more than double the number of patients compared to the same period last year (470 w/e 3 March 2024).
Hospital staff needed to close an additional 273 unoccupied beds due to infection prevention and control, adding to pressures on capacity and meaning the NHS lost a total of 43,938 bed days to norovirus alone last month.
The NHS.uk webpage on norovirus provides health information for the public including symptoms, how to treat it, and how to stop it spreading.
Hospitals are facing sustained pressure from a mix of winter viruses, with an average of 1,546 patients in hospital with flu last week – including 74 in critical care – a slight drop compared to the week before (1,656) but still 16% higher than the year previous (1,333).
There was an average of 1,101 patients in hospital with Covid-19 each day – a slight increase from last week (1,027) as well as an average of 13 children in hospital with RSV each day, almost twice as high as last year (7).
With viruses circulating in hospital spaces, the number of NHS staff off sick last week also remained high with around 49,223 staff absences per day – 8% higher than last year (45,629).
This pressure resulted in a slight increase in bed occupancy across the country with 95.6% of adult beds taken up. There was an average of 97,229 patients in hospital each day last week, over 1,200 more when compared to the same week last year (95,952).
Almost 1 in 7 beds were taken up by patients who no longer needed to be there (13,430) with almost half of those patients having been in hospital for more than 3 weeks, because of delays discharging patients to settings like social or community care.
Ambulance teams lost 22,863 hours due to handover delays, an increase of two thirds when compared to the same week last year (13,881) in part due to bed occupancy pressures.
Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, emergency services continued to respond to high levels of demand with 93,467 ambulance handovers last week alone.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, said: “Despite the sunnier weather this week showing some early signs of Spring, these latest figures show winter is certainly not over for NHS staff who are continuing to work tirelessly to treat thousands of patients with norovirus and other nasty winter viruses each day.
“Last month the NHS lost almost 44,000 bed days to norovirus, adding to already incredibly pressured bed occupancy levels and with flu, RSV and staff absences all up on last year, we are certainly not out of the woods yet.
“To help stop the spread of norovirus it is important to remember to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, and if you’re unwell to avoid mixing with other people until you have not had symptoms for two days.
“Hospitals continue to run at near capacity, with added pressure from almost one in seven beds taken up by patients who don’t need to be in hospital, and as these pressure continue it is vital that the public continue to use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies and use NHS 111 – and 111 online – if you need advice and support for other conditions.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said: “I want to thank NHS staff for their tireless work in the face of winter pressures and, while the latest figures point to slight easing in certain areas, the health service remains under considerable strain.
“To ease the burden of seasonal pressures this year, we have delivered more than 29 million vaccinations and ended the damaging strikes, keeping doctors on the front line, rather than the picket line.
“Through the government’s Plan for Change, we are combining investment and reform to fix our broken NHS and make it fit for the future.”
Gauri Godbole, Deputy Director, Gastrointestinal Infections at UKHSA, said: “Norovirus levels remain very high for this time of year.
“We are seeing the biggest impacts in health and social care settings, such as hospitals and care homes. If you have diarrhoea and vomiting, please do not visit hospitals and care homes or return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped and don’t prepare food for others, as you can still pass on the virus during this time.
“Alcohol gels do not kill norovirus. Wash your hands with soapy warm water and clean surfaces with bleach-based products where possible to help stop infections from spreading.”
The latest weekly winter data is available on the NHS England website.
