The number of cases rose from 43 in 2023 to 207 in 2025 at South Tees A&Es and urgent treatment centres, though this followed the creation of a new centre in 2024
13:27, 28 Jan 2026Updated 15:19, 28 Jan 2026
The University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, part of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, left, and right, The James Cook University Hospital, part of the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Cases of scabies in Teesside hospitals have risen in the last two years, with numbers quadrupling for one NHS trust.
Scabies is a parasitic infection of the skin transmitted through close physical contact and caused by a mite which buries into the skin and causes intense itching and rashes. The South Tees NHS Foundation Trust says it is unlikely people will be admitted to hospital for scabies.
But there has been a rise in scabies for people attending both North Tees and South Tees A&E and urgent treatment centres in recent years. Some of this might be explained by the creation of a new urgent treatment centre at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, in cases where people might have previously gone elsewhere, like GPs, or not sought medical treatment.
The number of scabies cases for South Tees at A&E and urgent treatment centres at James Cook, Redcar and Friarage in Northallerton rose from 43 in 2023 to 160 in 2024 and 207 in 2025. For the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, the University Hospital of North Tees and University Hospital of Hartlepool had 154 scabies cases in A&E and urgent treatment centres in 2023, 201 in 2024 and 182 in 2025.
There were 32 scabies cases of admissions to other South Tees hospital departments in 2024, and 30 in 2025. North Tees had 17 in 2024, 24 in 2025.
Scabies it is not a “notifiable” disease which must be reported to health authorities, so figures might not reflect the true number of cases. Most people who develop scabies are treated via their GP, pharmacy or via a sexual health clinic.
Consultations ‘higher than in previous years’
However a government report from October 2025 said there were annual increases nationally from 2021, “markedly larger since 2023”. It says reporting from general practice surveillance, such as the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre, showed “scabies consultations have recently been higher than in previous years across all regions of England”.
It found a 44% increase in scabies diagnoses at sexual health services, from 3,393 in 2023 to 4,872 in 2024, with diagnoses in 2024 exceeding those in 2019 pre-Covid. There were rises in all UK Health Security Agency regions, with 41% of all diagnoses in 2024 for people aged 20 to 24, and the largest increase was in the North-east region – a 92% increase from 160 to 307 diagnoses.
Stockton Council says it does not hold data on the number of scabies cases or outbreaks locally, and is not aware of any outbreaks of scabies currently being managed in the borough. It says if anyone is concerned about scabies, they should contact their GP or pharmacist for advice, and advice on scabies is also available on the NHS website.
Go here for the latest NHS news and breaking Teesside public health news
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