The UK is experiencing a super flu outbreak, with an average of 2,660 flu patients hospitalized daily last week—a number that surged by 55% in just one week. But at the same time, doctors are planning a five-day strike before Christmas, putting the healthcare system in an unprecedented crisis.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the National Health Service (NHS) is currently in an extremely dangerous situation, and with flu cases rising sharply, the NHS is facing its most severe challenge since the outbreak of COVID-19.
The latest NHS statistics show that the number of hospitalized flu patients has reached a record high for this time of year, with an average of about 2,660 patients admitted daily last week—an increase of 55% in just one week.
NHS National Medical Director Professor Steve Powis noted: “Under the dual pressure of record-breaking demand and an impending doctors’ strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is delivering the NHS its worst annual blow.”
Number of Infections May Double Again
Streeting warned that before the peak is reached, the number of flu infections could double again. He admitted that the current level of chaos and congestion inside hospitals is “already unacceptable.”
The operation of the NHS has always been a politically sensitive topic in the UK, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under immense pressure to shorten waiting times.
If the doctors’ strike goes ahead as planned, it will be the fourteenth strike since March 2023. Local healthcare staff’s disputes with the government center around pay and training opportunities. While Streeting agrees to increase training places, he emphasized that the government “cannot and will not make concessions on the issue of pay.”