The latest figures on the number of people in hospital with flu across Cornwall has been released. The number of flu patients has spiked between the end of December 2024 and the first week of January 2025, with increasing pressure put on National Health Service workers.
Figures published today by NHS England show that Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust saw an average of 33 flu patients per day in the week ending January 5, 2025, compared to an average of 21 flu patients per day in the preceding week, ending December 29, 2024.
NHS Cornwall issued a critical incident last week as pressure on care rises sharply over the winter. Patients have been urged not to attend the emergency department at a number of hospitals unless they have a life-threatening illness.
Furthermore, a top NHS doctor has warned the peak of the flu season is yet to come as hospitals wards across England are “full to bursting”. It comes as several NHS trusts declared critical incidents, including in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which was declared on Friday, January 3. Pressure subsequently eased but services are still exceptionally busy.
In some UK hospitals, people are being treated in corridors and a patient at one hospital was forced to wait 50 hours to be admitted to a ward. Some hospitals have restricted visitor numbers while others are encouraging people to wear surgical masks to limit the spread of viruses.
There are about 5,000 patients in hospital with flu in England, according to Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care.
He told the PA news agency: “Wards are now full to bursting and that pressure is feeding back into A&E departments, with patients being treated in environments not usually used for clinical care.
“Most patients would recognise when they’re being treated in a corridor but those aren’t the environments we would want to treat patients in. That is difficult for colleagues and patients who are treated in that environment. It’s too early to say it’s definitively peaked. I would hope there would be a peak in the next one to two weeks.
“But we’ve also got that cold snap at the moment, which will also put pressure on emergency services. We have pressure in emergency care all year round but the winter, with the added pressures of flu and other viruses, really makes that a really stark feeling of pressure.”
Leading nurses said the “prospect of the situation worsening will fill nursing staff with dread” as they called for mandatory reporting of corridor care. In recent days, as well as Cornwall, hospitals in Northamptonshire, Liverpool, Hampshire, Birmingham, Plymouth and the Wirral have declared critical incidents.
Hospitals in Cornwall are still facing the strain. There are 66 patients waiting for care currently at Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro emergency department. The expected wait time to be seen by a doctor or a nurse is over two hours.
Dr Chris Reid, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board said: “I want to thank our residents for their support in reducing pressures on the emergency department by using the best service for their needs.
"The system critical incident has now been stood down, but health services remain busy and I would urge people to continue to consider the range of options available to support them if needed. This includes our network of minor injury units, the urgent treatment centre at West Cornwall Hospital, their local pharmacist, GP practices or NHS111 online.
“I also want to thank our patients and their families for their patience and understanding with our frontline staff when facing longer waits than we would want and for their support in helping people to be discharged. Our health and care staff have continued to work tirelessly throughout the system critical incident. I want to thank them for all they have done over the last few days and throughout the busy winter period.”
