Health leaders warn of unsafe conditions as COVID, flu and norovirus collide with a 7.37 million treatment backlog. Share Hospital bed occupancy across England has hit a dangerous 94%, as health leaders warn of “unsafe” conditions amid mounting winter pressures and a 7.37 million treatment backlog. Hospitals are facing an increasingly difficult start to the season as COVID-19, flu and norovirus place further strain on an NHS already operating close to capacity. Health leaders say the service entered the colder months without the usual breathing space to recover from summer demand, raising concerns over how hospitals will cope when winter pressures intensify. Driving part of the rise is the XFG “Stratus” COVID-19 variant, with hospitalisations reported to have risen sharply between August and September. The strain has been associated with symptoms including exhaustion, fever, a persistent dry cough and a distinctive hoarse or croaky voice. At the same...
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