Norovirus cases spike sharply, driving hospital occupancy to pandemic era levels as winter pressure mounts

Hospitals across England are once again under severe strain as a sharp rise in norovirus cases pushes bed occupancy to levels not seen at this time of year since the Covid pandemic.

The highly contagious vomiting bug has surged rapidly, with the number of patients in hospital jumping by 45 per cent in just one week. NHS figures show an average of 823 people were hospitalised with norovirus last week, up from 569 the week before. The rise marks the highest level recorded so far this winter and exceeds figures from the same point last year, when cases did not peak until February.

The surge has had an immediate and visible impact on hospital capacity. General and acute hospital bed occupancy in England reached 94.5 per cent in the week ending 18 January, bringing the system close to full. NHS leaders say this is the highest level for this stage of winter since 2020, raising fresh concerns about resilience as colder weather approaches.

While norovirus cases climb, flu admissions have shown a slight easing. An average of 2,519 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, marking the second consecutive weekly fall. Despite this, overall pressure remains intense, with norovirus now emerging as a dominant threat to hospital flow.

Professor Meghana Pandit, the NHS national medical director, warned that the spike in the virus is putting hospitals under significant pressure. She said the delayed peak last winter means officials are watching closely for further increases, particularly with another cold snap forecast for the coming weekend.

Pandit urged the public not to delay seeking care if they need it and stressed that simple preventative measures could make a difference. Frequent hand washing and staying away from others when unwell remain among the most effective ways to limit the spread of norovirus, she said.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged the scale of the challenge, describing January as “really hard” for the health service. Speaking to the BBC, he said progress had been made in some areas, including improvements in ambulance response times and reductions in waiting lists, but admitted that conditions inside hospitals remain unacceptable for too many patients.

Streeting highlighted the continued use of trolleys in corridors, saying hospitals do everything possible to ensure safety but cannot make such care dignified. He said seeing patients treated in these conditions was driving his determination to push reforms faster.

Despite the pressures, new NHS data published on Thursday showed small signs of improvement in ambulance handover delays. Around a third of patients arriving by ambulance last week waited more than 30 minutes before being transferred to A&E teams, down from 37 per cent the previous week. That earlier figure had been the highest recorded so far this winter.

Longer delays also eased slightly. Twelve per cent of ambulance handovers, affecting more than 11,000 patients, took over an hour last week, compared with 15 per cent the week before.

Professor Pandit said these reductions showed that waiting times remain shorter than in some previous winters, crediting the relentless efforts of NHS staff working under extreme pressure. However, she cautioned that rising infections and cold weather could quickly reverse those gains.

With hospitals nearing capacity and norovirus spreading rapidly, health leaders fear the coming weeks could test the system further. As winter deepens, the NHS faces a familiar but no less daunting challenge: maintaining safe care while balancing surging demand, limited beds and exhausted staff.