Milton Keynes hospital is fast running out of beds as winter illness pandemic continues

And NHS leaders have warned that the pressure on hospitals is "nowhere near letting up".

New figures show 84% of general and acute beds were occupied at Milton Keynes University Hospital in the last week of December.

This is an extremely high number and could lead to a situation where none of the hospital’s 546 beds is available for emergency admissions.

Chief Executive Joe Harrison has spoken on BBC radio about the spike in flu cases, saying figures have shown “only a third” of local people took up their flu jab offer.

To avoid spreading infections further, people have been urged not come to the hospital to visit loved ones if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms.

Ian Reckless, Chief Medical Officer at MKUH, said: “We are seeing growth in the number of cases of flu. Whilst there is always significant demand for our services at this time of year, we are now feeling the added pressure of winter illnesses.”

He added: “The MKUH team is working hard to ensure that staff don’t spread infection, and I would like to appeal to the Milton Keynes community to play their part too. Please don’t come into the hospital if you have flu-like symptoms and were planning to visit a family member or friend. We empathise with everyone who wants to see their loved ones...but keeping infections out of the hospital helps us to keep everyone safe at this time when they need our care most.”

Meanwhile, Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said the figures "show the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up" and cases are "rising at a very concerning rate."

The data also showed an average of 528 hospital beds in England were filled each day by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, the average number of beds occupied by patients with Covid-19 stood at 1,184. In Milton Keynes four patients tested positive for Covid.

Prof Redhead said: "On top of flu there is also continual pressure from Covid, while RSV and norovirus hospital cases are also higher than last year, with hospitals putting in place an extra 1,300 beds last week than the same time last year in expectation of this continued pressure from viruses and other demand."

He added those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions should keep warm and make sure their regular medication is stocked during the cold weather.

NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said: "The NHS has done all it can in advance to mitigate risks to patients this winter, but we should be under no illusions that the service is in a position of national vulnerability as the intense pressures we are now seeing start to grip local services."

He added the statistics reveal the NHS is facing "huge demand, from sicker patients, with very high levels of flu".