Welsh hospitals are grappling with a surge in flu admissions as the infection spreads nationwide, adding to the already immense pressure on health services. The NHS is battling an array of viruses leading to increased ward and critical care admissions, pushing many hospitals to their limits.
Wales, along with the rest of the UK, is contending with three different strains of flu, RSV – a common cause of coughs and colds – and Covid-19. The influx of patients has resulted in ambulances queuing outside hospitals, unable to transfer their patients due to full bed capacity.
And at the end of 2024, on December 30, the Welsh Ambulance Service declared a ‘critical incident’, saying at the time that there were more than 340 calls waiting to be answered and that more than half of the Trust’s ambulance vehicles were stuck waiting to hand over patients outside hospitals. The critical incident was stood down on January 1. Welsh Health secretary Jeremy Miles said recently that, despite “significant planning”, there had been higher flu levels than expected.
There have been similar issues in England with a number of NHS trusts declaring their own critical incidents, people waiting 50 hours to be admitted to a ward, and patients being asked to attend A&E on their own to avoid overcrowding, reports WalesOnline .
File photo of ambulances parked outside Ysbyty Glan Clwyd’s emergency department
(Image: Robert Parry-Jones / North Wales Live)
The picture in Wales:
A Public Health Wales report for the first week of 2025, ending January 5, states that flu season is “approaching peak levels”. The agency describes influenza activity as being at “medium levels” but “increasing”. Some 281 patients were hospitalised with flu in the seven days period Wales’ total number of hospital inpatients with flu during that week was 628, and 45 of those were in critical care. That meant a rise from the previous week when 574 patients were in hospital with flu and 38 of them were in critical care.
Public Health Wales also reports 60 hospital admissions for RSV – respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of coughs and colds – during the week, along with 33 admissions for Covid-19. Of the total 164 people in hospital for RSV, five were in critical care, and of the 176 in hospital for Covid-19, one was in critical care.
The report continued: “The RSV season has peaked and is now decreasing, with activity in children now at medium intensity.” It added that Covid-19 levels were “broadly stable and at lower levels than previously”.
The weekly GP consultation rate for flu in Wales was up from 30 to 36.2 consultations per 100,000 people. Public Health Wales analysed 554 samples from patients with flu-like symptoms, of which 193 tested positive for influenza A, 49 for rhinovirus, 43 for human metapneumovirus, 33 for RSV, 17 for parainfluenza, 17 for seasonal coronaviruses, 11 for adenovirus, nine for influenza B, nine for enterovirus, seven for C pneumonia, six for Covid-19, two for mycoplasma and two for bocavirus.
In its ‘headline’ summary of the report, Public Health Wales said: “Influenza is circulating with activity now at ‘medium’ intensity levels. Case numbers continue to increase as expected for this point in the flu season. Influenza A (H1N1) is currently being detected in the highest numbers. Influenza A (H3N2) cases are also being confirmed at lower levels, with fewer cases of influenza B cases being seen.
“RSV is circulating, activity has decreased in the most recent week and is at medium intensity levels. Covid-19 case numbers have remained stable in recent weeks.”
The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now – here’s how to sign up
Find out what’s happening near you