NURSING leaders have warned that staff are battling to hold the NHS together amid a surge in flu hospitalisations. 

The number of people in hospital in England with flu has jumped 41 per cent in a week, and continues to be more than four times the number at this point last year, NHS figures showed today.

Health leaders have warned that the situation is “likely to get worse before it gets better” as schools prepare to close for Christmas and festive gatherings take place.

Eligible people have been urged to come forward for their flu jab.

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said there has been “no let-up” for NHS trusts with “unrelenting pressure” on beds and NHS 111 services.

It comes after officials warned of a so-called “quad-demic” of disease: flu, Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus.

Royal College of Nursing executive director for England Patricia Marquis said: “As people prepare for the festivities, nursing staff are battling to hold the service together and are deeply concerned about what the coming weeks will deliver.

“Right across the NHS beds are full and A&E is facing increasing pressures while the growing number of flu cases threatens to overwhelm an NHS and workforce already in crisis.

“The situation is made even worse by the strains in social and community care. 

“Lack of care available close to home means more patients are forced to use A&E or are stuck in hospital beds when they are ready to return home.

“Once again, winter is exposing the true impact of failures to invest in our nursing workforce. 

“As we head toward 2025, the government must show it values the profession through action and not warm words.”

Think tank The Health Foundation assistant director of policy Tim Gardner said: “Winter pressures are inevitable but a winter crisis is not, with these yearly emergencies far less severe only 10 years ago.

“While the current pressures on the health service are being exacerbated by flu and other seasonal viruses, the struggles in and around hospitals are more a reflection of lack of resilience in the NHS after a decade of austerity before the pandemic.”

The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.