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Wes Streeting says ‘bitingly cold snap’ puts extra pressure on NHS hospitals
Cold weather increases NHS 111 calls and ambulance delays, with 18% of patients waiting over 30 minutes for hospital handover, NHS officials said.
- On Friday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned the `bitingly cold snap` will put extra pressure on NHS hospitals as amber snow warnings begin for northern Scotland and freezing weather moves into England and Wales.
- Data shows cold weather increases cardiovascular and respiratory events as cold snaps can raise heart attacks, strokes and respiratory illnesses, especially among older people and those with long-term conditions, while icy conditions increase trips and falls, boosting demand on hospitals and A&E teams.
- NHS 111 data show very high demand, answering 87,318 calls on Saturday and 414,562 during Christmas week, while 18% of ambulance handovers last week waited at least 30 minutes and 128 flu patients were in critical care.
- Wes Streeting urged eligible people for flu jab and officials advised the public to use 999 and A&E only for life-threatening emergencies, relying on NHS 111 and 111 online otherwise.
- Despite the cold snap, NHS leaders say hospital bed occupancy is lower than last year and flu admissions have fallen for the second week after peaking at 5,408 last winter.
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Evening Standard+41 Reposted by 41 other sources
Wes Streeting says ‘bitingly cold snap’ puts extra pressure on NHS hospitals
Data shows there can be a rise in heart attacks, strokes and respiratory illnesses during a cold snap as well as increased risk of trips and falls.
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources44
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center35Last UpdatedBias Distribution90% Center
Bias Distribution
- 90% of the sources are Center
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C 90%
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