Hospitals hit by ‘storm of horrible bug’ as infections surge to record level

Hospitals across England have been hit by “a storm of norovirus infections” as the number of beds occupied by infected patients surged to the highest level ever recorded by the NHS.

An average of 1,160 people were being treated for the nasty winter vomiting bug, up 22% from 948 the previous week and more than double the number at the same time last year.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said hospitals “continue to run at near capacity”.

He added: “It is concerning to see the number of patients with norovirus hit an all-time high and there is no let up for hospital staff who are working tirelessly to treat more than a thousand patients each day with the horrible bug, on top of other winter viruses.

“To help stop the spread of norovirus, it is important to remember to wash your hands frequently with soap and water and avoid mixing with other people until you have not had symptoms for two days.”

Flu cases continued to fall but health chiefs said they were still contributing to pressure, with 1,755 patients in beds last week, including 87 in intensive care.

An average of 22 children were in hospital with respiratory syncytial virus, up 83% from the week before. And the number of people admitted with Covid had risen slightly from 952 last week to 984 this week.

The combined impact of winter viruses meant 95.4% of England’s hospital beds were occupied, with 97,152 patients receiving care.

Amy Douglas, lead epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said there was some hope that norovirus infections would fall during the half-term school holidays.

She added: “Norovirus remains high in other settings like hospitals and care homes too, and can be more severe in older adults, younger children and those who are immunocompromised.

“Please do not visit hospitals and care homes or return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped and don’t prepare food for others as you can still pass on the virus.

“Alcohol gels do not kill norovirus. Wash your hands with soapy warm water and clean surfaces with bleach-based products where possible to help stop infections from spreading.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting paid tribute to NHS staff “working tirelessly in difficult conditions”.

He said: “We have taken action to support the NHS this winter, including delivering millions of vaccinations for people up and down the country, rolling out the RSV vaccine for the first time and ending the resident doctor strikes so that staff are on the front line, not the picket line for the first winter in three years.

“It will take time, but through our Plan for Change, we will get the NHS back on its feet.”