Bracing ourselves for a winter 'quad-demic'

Health leaders are warning of winter that is 'busier than ever', large increases in admissions for flu, Covid-19, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, a common cold-like illness that affects the nose, throat and lungs.

Flu is flagged as being of particular concern, with the number of hospital admissions having quadrupled compared to the same time last year. This is particularly concerning, given that one would have expected to the concerted campaign to provide as many people as possible with immunisation against flu to have had the reverse effect.

Last week it emerged that  96,587 patients were occupying hospital beds - an all-time record for the time of year - meaning that 95 per cent off beds were full. Given such pressures, one can hardly blame NHS chiefs for fearing what might happen when the cold weather really starts to bite.

The winter crisis in our hospitals has become almost an annual tradition. Every year the Government throws a bit of money at the problem to get us through the worst, and talk of root-and-branch reform quietly fades away as the pressures ease the following spring.

This cannot continue indefinitely. Today, the Prime Minister announced his targets for reducing waiting lists for non-essential operations. Admirable though that is, maybe it is also time for an honest conversation about what services the NHS can realistically be expected to deliver in years to come, and what we will have to do without in order to focus on the real emergencies.

In the meantime, it is incumbent on all of us to think before we rock up at A & E with a non-urgent condition. And, if eligible, to take up the offer of a free flu jab.