Nearly five times as many people are in the hospital with flu according to NHS figures.
The news comes after the Royal Liverpool University Hospital declared a critical incident earlier this week due to exceptionally high demand for services.
Philip Banfield, the head of the British Medical Association, said that the demand was unprecedented: “People waiting in waiting rooms, on hospital trolleys for days to be admitted. This leads to preventable harm. With the flu and winter vomiting bug it becomes hard to separate patients out, and it’s getting really overwhelming.”
“What we’re seeing is a number of people with flu getting secondary bacterial infections, and it becomes quite clear as your oxygen levels fall you are in need of oxygen and therefore a hospital bed.”
An NHS worker at Royal Liverpool Hospital, who did not want to be named, said: “Winter’s always going to be more difficult with all the people coming in because viruses spread so much more, but my job has been really hectic the past few days.”
2024 was also described as the busiest year for ambulances and A&E on record by the health service.
@merseynewslive The NHS have said that they are struggling to cope with the demand for hospital beds recently #NHS #FLU #ambulance ♬ original sound – MerseyNewsLive
