NHS data indicates norovirus infections causing sickness and diarrhea may have finally peaked as winter pressures on the NHS start to lift signalling a much-needed respite for hospitals
Norovirus infections sweeping the country appear to have peaked as health bosses say the NHS is coming out of “the hardest period it has ever managed”.
Hospitalisations for the sickness bug dropped slightly last week suggesting levels of the virus circulating in the community have finally started to drop off. There were on average 948 patients a day in hospitals in England with norovirus-like symptoms in the week up to February 9. This is down from 961 the previous week but is still more than two thirds higher than the same week last year.
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England’s emergency care director, said: “This post pandemic period is potentially the hardest the NHS has ever managed and that has certainly been true this winter with soaring levels of viruses, high bed occupancy and difficulties discharging patients – with last week seeing 14,000 beds taken up each day by patients who were medically fit for discharge.”
Norovirus can usually be treated at home and it is important to rest and have lots of fluids to avoid dehydration. Patients will usually start to feel better in two to three days. In some very young and elderly people the condition can become serious and require hospitalisation.
January saw a new high of 61,529 patients waiting over 12-hours in A&E before being admitted to a hospital bed – the most since current records began in 2010. An average of 14,087 beds were taken up by patients who were medically fit for discharge each day last week and this was the highest so far this winter.
Tim Gardner, assistant director at the Health Foundation, said: “Conditions this winter have been difficult but not exceptionally severe, and the NHS needs to be able to manage expected surges in demand without major impacts on patient care. Long waits in A&E departments, delayed ambulance responses and pressures on hospital capacity are all symptoms of an NHS that is running on empty. The reasons for this are well known, a decade of underinvestment in the NHS and a lack of reform and capacity in community and social care services, resulting in delayed discharges.”
NHS figures show the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen for the fourth month in a row. An estimated 7.46 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December, relating to 6.24 million patients – down from 7.48 million treatments and 6.28 million patients at the end of November. These are the lowest figures since April 2023. The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, said: “Through the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, the government has already cut NHS waiting lists by almost 160,000 since July, through a combination of investment and reform.
“As we work to end the misery of people left stranded on NHS waiting lists, we will also continue to address the issues facing our A&E departments. Annual winter pressures should not automatically lead to an annual winter crises and we will soon publish our plan to improve urgent and emergency care services, so the NHS can be there for everyone when they need it, once again.”
