Hospital flu cases up 10 times on last year amid ‘tripledemic’ warning, NHS England data shows

Published

1 year ago

November 24, 2022

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Ten times more people are in hospital with flu than this time last year, latest figures show.

There were an average of 344 patients a day with flu in hospital last week, compared with the 31 seen at the beginning of December last year, according to data released by NHS England.

It comes amid pressures on staffing too, with new figures showing nearly 360,000 NHS staff were absent from work last week through illness or self-isolating due to COVID.

Around 19 in 20 general and acute beds were taken up – 80% for adult critical care, NHS England’s first weekly winter update also showed.

More than 13,000 (13,179) beds a day were taken up last week by patients who no longer needed one – this is up a quarter compared to the first week of December last year (10,510).

It follows a warning from NHS leaders that it is facing the threat of a “tripledemic” of COVID, flu and record demand on urgent and emergency services.

NHS England launched its annual 111 campaign today – urging people to use its online service to reduce “record” demand on accident and emergency (A&E) departments.

People should still call 999 and go to A&E when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, it added.

Flu season is here – and hitting the youngest and elderly hardest

Flu season is here and the warning about crippling winter pressure on the NHS is starting to come true.

We monitor what happens with flu in the southern hemisphere to try and predict what impact the virus will have on us when winter comes. It hit Australia hard and early and that could be repeated here in the next few months.

Already hundreds of NHS beds in England were taken up by patients with flu every day over the last week, according to the latest data. An average of 344 patients a day with flu were in hospital last week. That’s more than ten times the number seen at the beginning of December last year.

Flu hits the youngest and elderly hardest. It is especially dangerous for children with underlying health conditions. Children’s doctors say “paediatric winter” has started.

November is when RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) cases spike. It is a common winter virus but social distancing during the pandemic means it has not circulated widely over the past two years. That also means young children have not been exposed to these winter respiratory viruses before.

As RSV cases start to decline towards the end of November flu cases start to rise.

Paediatricians are really worried about a shortage of intensive care beds for very sick children.

A senior consultant told me: “There have been hardly any PICU (paediatric intensive care unit) beds in the south of the UK for the last few days and children are waiting sometimes more than 24 hours in the EDs?

“The situation for children is awful but no one seems to be mentioning it. Whereas for adults it is always made clear how awful it is. It is probably as bad if not worse for children.”

Sky News has been told there are concerns over the number of paediatric ICU beds available in some parts of the country.

The latest data shows last Thursday there were as few as 33 spare beds available in England – that’s lower than at any point last winter.

While the exact figures might change slightly over the next two weeks, NHS England has confirmed there is higher PICU (paediatric intensive care unit) occupancy this month compared with previous years.

The Paediatric Critical Care Society told Sky News: “Many PICUs are at, or over, their staffed bed capacity. This situation is likely to continue, or even worsen, over the coming months.”

They said staff shortages, and an increasing number of complex patients are impacting capacity.

Some hospitals are operating on a one in one out policy with patients being moved to other trusts or being treated in the community to help alleviate the pressure, however, it said all children who need to be treated in hospital are receiving the appropriate treatment.

Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told Sky News “We are concerned to hear reports of PICU bed shortages in parts of the country. We know paediatric teams are exceptionally busy this winter as a result of ever rising demand and staffing issues.”

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the NHS is likely to experience its “most challenging winter ever” this year, adding the threat of a “tripledemic” is very real.

“It has never been more important to get protected against the viruses ahead of winter,” he said.

“The NHS has extensive plans in place to deal with winter boosting bed capacity – recruiting more call handlers, introducing 24/7 control centres to track and manage demand and new falls services across the country,” he added.

“Hospitals continue to contend with more patients coming in than going out, with thousands of patients every day in hospital that are medically fit for discharge, and so we continue to work with colleagues in social care to do everything possible to ensure people can leave hospital when they are ready.”

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UK

More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

Published

4 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

More human remains have been found in two locations as part of an investigation that started when a man’s torso was discovered in Salford.

Police believe the torso belongs to a man in his 60s and have informed his family about his death, but have not yet identified him publicly.

In a news conference today, officers revealed the victim is believed to have known two men who are currently in custody. They are believed to have lived together.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said they were looking at four crime scenes in Salford and the Greater Manchester area.

The human remains discovered over the last two days were found at Salford’s Blackleach Reservoir and Linnyshaw Colliery Wood.

Officers had already identified the two scenes before the remains were found and were “on route to the Colliery Wood” when a member of the public called to say they had found a package, said Det Supt Hughes.

Police officers found the other remains at the reservoir today while searching the area.

“We are very confident it is the same victim,” Det Supt Hughes added.

The victim is believed to have died in late March.

Police are searching a warehouse in Bury where “items were stored after this incident without the knowledge of occupants of that warehouse,” said Det Supt Hughes.

They’re also searching a house in Winton where the victim “was believed to have lived with the two men in custody”.

The first remains – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – were found in clear plastic by a passer-by at Kersal Dale Wetlands in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 4 April.

Two men, aged 42 and 68, from Salford, who are believed to be known to each other, were arrested on suspicion of murder on 25 April, GMP said, after officers trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

The 42-year-old was arrested after officers stormed a bus in Eccles Old Road around midday, the force said.

The other man was later arrested at an address in Worsley Road.

A 20-year-old man previously arrested on suspicion of murder was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

“It is too soon to rule out [looking for other suspects] but we’re confident at this time that we have the right two suspects in custody,” said Det Supt Hughes.

Detectives are still appealing the public for any information related to the crime and want to hear from witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the original grim discovery.

More than 100 officers searched the Kersal Dale area for 12 days looking for evidence, working with an underwater search team and dogs before lifting the crime scene on 17 April.

UK

Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

Published

4 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

The number of migrants that have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first four months of the year is at its highest ever level.

Some 7,167 people have arrived on UK shores after travelling by small boat from the continent between 1 January to 27 April, with 902 entering just this past week

This compares to 5,745 for the same period last year. The previous record was 6,691 in 2022.

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The figures come after Rishi Sunak has staked much of his political future on getting the number of migrant boat crossings down.

On Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he said migrants travelling to Ireland after arriving in the UK on small boats was a sign the Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.

“People are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying,” he told Sky News.

“If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay there, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

However, the news that migrants are crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic has sparked an outcry in the country, and prompted the government in Dublin to announce they are planning emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to Britain.

More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.

Stopping the boats was one of the government’s five priorities set out by the prime minister after he took office in 2023.

The latest figures have been seized upon by Labour, with shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock saying: “This is the blunt reality behind all of Rishi Sunak’s empty boasts: more people have arrived by small boats so far this year than ever before and more people are having to be rescued.

“What will it take for Rishi Sunak to wake up and realise that his plan is not working?

“We desperately need a Labour government in place to get a grip of this issue.

“Our plan would strengthen Britain’s border security, crush the smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, end hotel use, and set up a new returns and enforcement unit so those with no right to be in the UK are swiftly returned.”

Earlier this week, the prime minister said the government would “begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight” to Rwanda.

Mr Sunak said that they had increased detention spaces to 2,200 and had 200 caseworkers “ready and waiting” to process asylum claims.

He added that 25 courtrooms and 150 judges had been provided to deal with any legal cases quickly.

UK

Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed

Ireland is pledging emergency legislation enabling it to send asylum seekers back to the UK.

More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.

Rishi Sunak told Sky News it showed the UK’s Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent after it finally became law last week.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said the threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.

Micheal Martin said the policy was already affecting Ireland because people are “fearful” of staying in the UK.

The former taoiseach told The Daily Telegraph: “Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have.”

Simon Harris, Ireland’s latest leader, has asked Ms McEntee to “bring proposals to cabinet to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”, a spokesman said.

Ms McEntee said she will be meeting UK Home Secretary James Cleverly in London on Monday.

“There are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration towards Ireland,” she told RTE.

“My focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.

“That’s why I’m introducing fast processing, that’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK, and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary to raise these issues on Monday.”

People are now “worried” about coming to the UK, Rishi Sunak has said.

He told Sky News: “If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay here, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

Mr Sunak said the comments from Irish politicians show that “illegal migration is a global challenge”.

“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led,” he said.

Shadow minister Wes Streeting said it was unlikely a Labour government would bring people back from Rwanda if some are sent there.

“Once people are settled in Rwanda, they’re settled in Rwanda,” he told Sky News, adding it was doubtful that Labour would “unpick that situation”.

Regarding illegal migration in general, he said it required “putting the money that’s gone to Rwanda into the National Crime Agency so we can have proper cross-border policing to tackle the criminal gangs, speeding up the processing of decision-making, making sure we’ve got serious returns agreements with other countries”.

He added: “Those are solutions that can work.”