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SOARING flu cases have sparked critical incidents at several NHS trusts, with patients asked today to attend A&E alone amid 50-hour waits for admission.
Hospital bosses have urged visitors to wear face masks as patients with the respiratory virus take up 5,000 beds a day in England.
Flu cases are 246 per cent higher than last year and have led to never before seen red alerts in ambulance trusts, with the peak of the flu season expected to hit when the new school term begins.
NHS Providers interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said hospital estates across the NHS “are no longer fit for purpose” and that the increasing demand “has led to these critical incidents being declared across a number of trusts and, uniquely, actually across ambulance services as well.”
Last week, NHS data revealed that the number of people in hospital with flu in England was more than four times the level of a month ago, with officials warning that cases were “rising at a very concerning rate.”
Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Dr John Puntis said: “Lessons from Covid have not been learned, including the need for public health measures to promote vaccination and reduction of airborne virus spread by mask-wearing and air-filtration systems indoors.
“If our NHS is to be made fit for the future, as promised, it needs to have sufficient staff, beds and estate to cope with such surges in demand.
“More investment in the private sector and tweaking the NHS app are not the radical reforms we need and won’t change these realities.”
Dr Ed Smith, deputy medical director at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, asked patients to attend alone as emergency departments are “exceptionally busy at the moment.”
North Bristol NHS Trust urged the public and staff to wear surgical face masks in its “emergency zone” to reduce the risk of infection.
East Sussex Hospitals Trust is temporarily limiting visitors to one per patient per day to reduce the impact of flu, with critical incidents declared at hospitals in Northamptonshire, Cornwall, Liverpool, Hampshire, Birmingham and Plymouth in recent days.
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust declared the first critical incident in its history on Monday, due to a combination of “significant patient demand, pressure within local hospitals and flooding.” It was stood down today.
Critical incidents can be declared when health and care services are so busy that special measures are needed to restore normal operations and keep patients safe.
Claire Goodwin-Fee, founder of Frontline19, which supports NHS workers, said: “Behind the stories of 50-hour waits and overwhelmed hospitals are exhausted healthcare workers battling impossible workloads in crumbling facilities.
“Government must take urgent action: invest in staffing and infrastructure, provide robust mental health support for NHS workers and implement a long-term plan to prevent future crises. Enough is enough.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he felt “distressed and ashamed” when he heard about some NHS patients’ experiences.