It’s the highest for this time of year
(Image: GETTY)
The number of flu cases in Cornwall continued to rise last week. An average of 17 beds every day at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust were occupied by flu patients in the week ending 14th December.
The trust runs Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, West Cornwall Hospital at Penzance and St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle.
But Cornwall’s community hospitals are run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and not included in these figures. The number for RCHT hospitals was up from 11 in the week ending December 7 and eight in the week ending November 30.
It’s the highest number of flu hospitalisations at this time of year, up from eight in both 2024 and 2023.
The latest figure for Derriford Hospital in Plymouth was 10 each day.
Our interactive map shows the latest number of patients with flu in hospitals in England
Health officials have warned of a “tidal wave of flu” driving up hospital admissions throughout the UK. Check how your local area is affected with an interactive map.
NHS statistics indicate a sharp rise in flu-related hospitalisations nationally, with concerns raised about potential disruption on hospital wards throughout the Christmas period. Recent figures revealed that approximately 2,660 people were being admitted to hospital with influenza daily last week – marking an unprecedented level for this stage of the year.
This constituted a 55 per cent jump from the previous week, whilst ambulance callouts also climbed to 48,814 compared with last year’s figures. As reported by The Mirror, the H3N2 flu strain has evolved into a more aggressive variant, raising concerns it may place additional burden on the NHS as relatives come together for Christmas celebrations.
Specialists from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have cautioned that this new variant could, in exceptionally rare instances, prove fatal to otherwise well children through complications including sepsis. And healthcare settings may face heightened pressure over the festive period as junior doctors have approved a five-day walkout in England.
The spike in infections has been partially attributed to the influenza season commencing roughly a month earlier than during the previous three years. Dr Ed Hutchinson, a professor of Molecular and Cellular Virology at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Virus Research, previously spoke to the Mirror about the new strain’s acquisition of several new mutations.
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