NHS England has published its latest monthly performance data for hospitals, along with this week’s snapshot of winter virus levels and A&E pressures.
Here are the key figures from both reports:
– Flu
An average of 5,408 flu patients were in hospital in England each day in the week to January 5, including 256 in critical care.
This is up 21% from 4,469 the previous week, when 211 were in critical care.
It is nearly five times the number on December 1, when the total stood at 1,098.
The figure is much higher than at this point last winter, when the average was just 1,548.
It is also higher than at this stage two years ago in the winter of 2022/23, when the figure stood at 5,262 – although flu numbers had started to fall by then, having previously peaked at 5,441.
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