Hospitals have been struck with record numbers of vomiting norovirus cases. New data from the NHS has shown that norovirus cases in hospitals are 80% higher than they were last year, and the highest they’ve ever been since January 2020. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and fever, and is easily spread through contact. While flu cases have fallen since their peak, they still remain higher than last year alongside COVID and RSV with 96% of adult beds occupied.
- NHS under ‘mammoth demand’ as winter pressures strain the system and its workforce
- Flu hospitalisations quadruple ahead of the New Year
- Winter virus rates surge, leaving nurses ‘battling’ to hold service together
‘NHS hospitals have been hit by a surge in norovirus cases over the last week - with the highest level recorded in any January since 2020,’ said Professor Julian Redhead, NHS National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care. ‘This, along with higher than normal rates of flu and other winter viruses – and continued issues in delays in discharging patients – means hospitals remain extremely busy with patients.’
Nursing staff have resorted to corridor care as hospitals struggle with the high volume of patients. An increase in patients who did not need to be in hospital added to the strain on the system, as one in seven adult hospital beds had been occupied by patients that were well enough to be discharged. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has again called upon the Government to invest in nursing and community care to alleviate the pressures.
‘Despite falling flu cases, there is no sign of pressures letting up for nursing staff having to deliver care in corridors and other inappropriate spaces. Rising rates of norovirus are making a bad situation an increasingly dangerous one,’ said RCN Executive Director for England Patricia Marquis. ‘The route to solving the crisis in our hospitals lies in investing in nursing, especially in the community. They are crucial to keeping people healthy at home, but their numbers have collapsed.’