Health Secretary Wes Streeting has raised alarm over what he calls a double whammy of soaring flu hospitalisations and an imminent five-day strike by resident doctors in England, due to begin on 17 December.
He told LBC the NHS was under “the worst pressure since Covid”, with an average of 2,660 flu patients hospitalised daily last week equivalent to filling three hospitals.
Hopes remain that the strike could be halted, as the British Medical Association is polling members on whether to call it off. Streeting questioned why the union refused his offer to delay action until January, saying it suggested they expected this week to be most painful for the NHS.
Flu admissions have jumped more than 50% in a week, with no sign of peaking. Experts warn of a mutated H3N2 strain circulating earlier than usual, widely dubbed “super flu”, though not more severe or harder to treat. Some schools in Wales and Scotland have reintroduced Covid-style measures, while children aged 5–14 show the highest positivity rates in England.
Hospitalisation rates are highest among over-75s and children under five. Cases across the UK continue rising, with concerns they could exceed 5,000 within days. NHS England officials say hospitals are better prepared than pre-Covid times, but acknowledge severe strain.
Health authorities urge eligible peopleespecially older adults, pregnant women, and those with health conditions to get vaccinated ahead of Christmas. Meanwhile, critics argue the crisis reflects longstanding NHS workforce shortages rather than just winter viruses.
