Flu deaths soar to 215 as NHS suffers second worst month ever for wait times
THE number of people killed by the flu this winter has risen to above 200 but new cases of the bug are "stabilising", new figures reveal.
In the last week there have been 22 new flu-related deaths - taking the overall figure this year to 215, figures confirmed today.
Last week some 3,745 people were admitted to hospital with the flu, down 14 per cent from the 4,372 the week before, as NHS figures reveal the health service has suffered through its second-worst month on record.
More than 55 per cent (2,097) were suffering from influenza B, the majority of which is caused by the Japanese flu, Public Health England figures revealed.
And 561 people were suffering from the Aussie flu, with 14 fighting for their lives with the deadly H3N2 strain.
But the number of people thought to have been struck by the flu has dropped to 2.6 million, compared to 3.9 million in the previous week, according to online tool FluSurvey.
It is a significant drop from the 8.3 million thought to be affected just three weeks ago.
Flusurvey relies on 7,500 members of the public reporting when they are suffering flu-like symptoms - so the true number of flu cases is likely to be higher.
Richard Pebody, acting head of the respiratory diseases at PHE, said: "We are continuing to see flu circulate, with signs that flu activity is stabilising.
"Rates of vaccination across all those eligible for the vaccine have increased on last season and we have vaccinated an additional one and a half million people.
"We are currently seeing a mix of flu types, including the A(H3N2) strain that circulated last winter in the UK and then in Australia and flu B.
"It is important to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene and to get the vaccine if you are newly eligible, although we are now coming to the end of the vaccine season."
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It comes as the NHS suffered through it's second-worst month on record last month, with just 85.3 per cent of patients in A&E being seen within four hours.
Casualty wards are expected to treat 95 per cent of patients within the target four-hour window.
More than 1,000 patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be seen - more than double the previous month.
NHS England said more than 1.7 million patients were seen within four hours last month, an increase of 5.72 per cent on the daily average for the same month last year.
Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: "The last six weeks has seen the acute services of the NHS under a sustained period of stress due to 'normal' winter pressures along with a surge in influenza.
"Neither of these were unpredictable but both have combined to cause the issues that have been widely reported across the country."
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An NHS England spokesman said: "Despite the worst flu season in seven years, A&E performance improved this month.
"It was better than both the month before, and was better too than the same time last winter."
Among those have fallen victim to the deadly flu this winter is Bethany Walker, from Applecross in the Scottish Highlands, 18, who lost her life to flu after developing pneumonia.
The 18-year-old was airlifted to hospital in Inverness, where she passed away last Friday, after falling ill at home in the Scottish Highlands.
Student Melissa Whiteley also lost her life to the flu at just 18 years old, leaving behind her heartbroken twin sister.
Health officials renewed their pleas for people to have the flu jab, adding "it's not too late to protect yourself and your family".
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: “Whilst influenza rates have levelled out for now, this means that there are still huge numbers of patients being seen in general practice with flu and other common winter conditions – and GPs and our teams are certainly feeling the pressure.
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"If patients have flu, the best thing to do is get lots of rest, and take in lots of fluids as it is easy to become dehydrated.
"Where possible, we would encourage patients not to mix with other people, particularly elderly or other 'at-risk' people, such as pregnant women, to try to avoid spreading the virus further.
"Whilst there is no cure, the best advice is to maintain good hygienic practices, such as washing your hands regularly and throwing tissues away as soon as you use them.
Whilst there is no cure, the best advice is to maintain good hygienic practices, such as washing your hands regularly and throwing tissues away as soon as you use them.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the RCGP
"Paracetamol or ibuprofen, if appropriate, can be used to manage fevers or muscle aches – and there are numerous over the counter remedies available that can ease symptoms.
"We continue to urge patients who are ill to think hard about whether they do need to see a GP – not just in terms of reducing pressures on the NHS, but to minimise the possibility of passing viruses, such as flu, to others."
Last month the RCGP revealed flu admissions across the UK were up 150 per cent since the start of 2018, according to their data.
About 31,000 patients visited their doctor with flu-like symptoms between January 15-21, roughly the same amount as the last seven days.
It takes the total to more than 1.7m patients seen by GPS so far this flu season.
The worst hit regions include Birmingham, Norwich, Nottingham, Manchester, York, Newcastle, Bristol, Portsmouth and Canterbury, their data shows.
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Experts have told The Sun Online Aussie flu symptoms are likely to be more severe than swine flu, which triggered the last major flu pandemic in the winter of 2009/10.
Professor Robert Dingwall, a flu expert at Nottingham Trent University told The Sun Online the UK must brace itself for the flu crisis to "get worse before it gets better".
While it's still early in the flu season, he warned "we have good reason to think it could be the worst winter for ten to 15 years, if not decades".
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