Home Health New norovirus warning as hospital cases of vomiting rise to highest level since 2020, and health chiefs urge Brits to take precautions

New norovirus warning as hospital cases of vomiting rise to highest level since 2020, and health chiefs urge Brits to take precautions

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Norovirus may appear similar to Covid symptoms, with both viruses causing chills, fever and headaches.

Britons have been warned again to prepare for a norovirus surge as cases rise to the highest level seen in hospitals in January since 2020.

Rates Infections from vomiting, which can also cause diarrhoea, are up 80 per cent on the same period last year, new figures show.

Some 784 patients a day were hospitalized in England with norovirus last week, up from 650 the week before, an increase of more than a fifth.

Authorities have warned that hospitals remain “extremely busy” and urged Britons to continue washing their hands frequently to protect against transmission of the highly contagious virus.

The NHS also remains alarmingly close to capacity, with 96 per cent of adult hospital beds occupied, worrying data revealed today.

92 percent is the point at which experts say staff performance drops.

Meanwhile, separate surveillance data monitoring the flu outbreak in England suggests hospital admissions have fallen again from the previous week.

But they are still more than double the level recorded last year.

Norovirus may appear similar to Covid symptoms, with both viruses causing chills, fever and headaches.

Figures show almost 4,000 beds were occupied by flu patients every day last week, including 176 in intensive care.

Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: “NHS hospitals have been hit by a rise in norovirus cases over the past week, with the highest level recorded since January 2020. .

‘This, together with higher than normal rates of flu and other winter viruses, and ongoing problems with delays in patient discharge, means hospitals remain extremely busy with patients.

‘Staff are working incredibly hard to see patients as quickly as possible and it is good news that flu cases have peaked.

“Patients should continue to use 111 and 111 online if they need advice and support for health problems and call 999 or go to A&E for life-threatening emergencies.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting added: ‘Hospitals across the country continue to face significant pressure and patients continue to face unacceptable levels of care this winter.

“It is positive that flu rates are starting to decline and ambulance transport is improving, but we are not out of the woods yet.

“If you’re eligible, it’s not too late to get your flu vaccine – contact your local pharmacy or GP to protect yourself this winter.”

According to the latest weekly NHS hospital figures, norovirus cases are up 21 per cent on the previous week.

Levels remain higher than 12 months ago, when an average of 438 beds were occupied by patients with diarrhea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms.

The figure stood at only 373 in 2023.

The data also shows that an average of 3,833 patients were hospitalized with the flu last week.

This is a drop of more than a fifth (22 percent) from the previous week’s 4,929, but is still higher than this point last winter (1,582) and in 2023 (2,034).

Almost 1,100 beds were also occupied by Covid patients.

RSV, which is most common in infants and young children, increased 91 percent in the same period in 2024.

In response to rising rates of norovirus, flu, RSV and Covid (so-called “quaddemic”), some hospitals had begun limiting visiting hours and imposed mask mandates.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Hospitals across the country are still facing significant pressure and patients continue to face unacceptable levels of care this winter.”

Authorities warned that hospitals continue

Authorities have warned that hospitals remain “extremely busy” and urged Britons to continue washing their hands frequently to protect against transmission of the highly contagious norovirus.

Norovirus is usually spread through close contact with someone infected, by touching surfaces or objects, or by eating food that someone infected has touched.

Health chiefs already advise against relying solely on hand sanitisers to protect against transmission, as alcohol does not kill the virus.

Most of those infected suffer nausea, diarrhea and vomiting and recover at home.

But norovirus can increase pressure on hospitals because infected patients must be isolated in individual rooms or wards must be closed to new patients to contain the spread.

Most people will not need to talk to a doctor about a norovirus infection. In most cases, it will go away on its own.

Health bosses often recommend rest and drinking plenty of fluids to aid recovery. Paracetamol can also relieve fever or aches and pains.

Many patients also ask their doctor for antibiotics, but these are not effective against viruses.

Separate NHS figures today also found that 96 per cent of adult general and acute beds in England were occupied last week.

This comes as the country's top doctor, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, warned earlier this week that half of England's population will end up in A&E each year by 2034 if the NHS does not

This comes as the country’s top doctor, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, warned earlier this week that half of England’s population will end up in A&E each year by 2034 if the NHS does not “go bankrupt” and move more attention from hospitals to hospitals. community

Almost one in seven (13,710) were seen by patients who were medically fit to be discharged, 125 more than the previous week.

This is also the highest number so far this winter.

It comes as the country’s top doctor warned earlier this week that half England’s population will end up in A&E every year by 2034 if National Health Service not “go all out” and move more care from hospitals to the community.

In a keynote address on ‘The current state of the NHS’ at Liverpool Medical Institution, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said: ‘Today I want to focus particularly on moving care into the community.

‘Because we know that if A&E attendances increase at the same rate as the last 10 years, NHS staff will need to manage six million more A&E attendances every year from 2034.

‘That would mean that the equivalent of almost half of the population goes to the emergency room at least once a year; that is simply not feasible for a 21st century healthcare system.

“Instead, millions of patients will need to receive the care and support they need outside of the hospital.”

A&Es in England faced its busiest year on record in 2024, with 27.42 million attendances across the year, up 7.1 per cent on 2023, according to NHS England.

Rough projections suggest there could be 33,505,330 attendances in 2034.

Last week, a damning report into the state of the NHS also found that dead patients remain undiscovered for hours in A&E because staff are too overstretched to notice.

The “heartbreaking” report, published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), also revealed that a severe shortage of beds has led to sick people being left in “animal” conditions in hospital car parks, cupboards and toilets.

It featured testimonies from more than 5,000 nurses, who exposed how patients are cruelly “stripped of their dignity” and routinely suffer preventable deaths.

The 460-page file said it had become “normalized” for patients to be left for days at a time on chairs or trolleys in “inappropriate environments,” rather than in a ward.

Demoralized nurses reported caring for up to 40 patients in a single hallway, some blocking emergency exits or parking next to vending machines.

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