London’s NHS services are bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter, with three times as many people in the capital hospitalised by the virus compared to the same time last year.
Numbers across the country continue to spike at an alarming rate, but Londoners have been warned that the city’s significantly low vaccination rates are particularly concerning.
At an NHS England board meeting on Thursday, chief executive Sir Jim Mackey warned that by the end of next week there could be anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 beds occupied by flu patients - which could exceed the highest level ever recorded, 5,400.
1,717 flu patients were in beds each day last week, more than 50% higher than last year.
However an average of 259 patients took up a London hospital bed each day last week with the flu - triple the average of 89 this time last year.
A troublesome mutant strain of the flu hitting the UK is believed to be more infectious and leading to more severe illness and hospital admissions than last year - while also leaving people vulnerable to other catching other seasonal viruses at the same time.
A 'drifted' influenza A(H3N2) strain, also now known as 'subclade K' or 'super flu', is dominating cases and health leaders have warned the flu season started 'unusually early' this year - while virology experts are leading growing calls for mask wearing.
Eligible Londoners have been urged to get their jab to protect themselves and ease the pressure on staff - NHS figures currently indicate that fewer than half of eligible people in London have had the free flu vaccine this season.
London pharmacies, GPs and community services have delivered over 1.8 million flu vaccinations between September and November, but many more are eligible.
Chief Medical Director for the NHS in London Dr. Chris Streather said: “There are still vulnerable people who haven't come forward to be vaccinated. If you're in one of the eligible groups and you haven't had your flu vaccine yet, I urge you to come forward as soon as possible. It's never too late.”
Jacqueline Walker, NHS London’s operational director of covid-19 and influenza vaccination programmes, said: “The NHS in London has a strong ambition to make vaccines readily accessible and convenient for eligible people, whether via GPs, community clinics or local pharmacies.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are highly skilled professionals who are trusted by Londoners not only to provide medicines but to deliver clinical care to communities, including vaccinations to prevent ill health.”
Last winter saw a fifth more people hospitalised with flu compared to the year before, with more than 36,000 beds taken up by patients across the capital, but that number looks likely to grow further this winter.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) reported its three busiest days of 2025 in a row last weekend, saying the 20% increase included more calls from people with viral infections and respiratory illnesses such as the flu, as this new strain hits earlier than usual.
Professor Julian Redhead, National director for urgent and emergency care, said the figures confirmed the NHS’s concerns that the health service was bracing for an unprecedented flu wave this winter, with cases “incredibly high for this time of year and there is no peak in sight yet”.
“The NHS has prepared earlier for winter than ever before, but despite that we know that ballooning flu cases coinciding with strikes may stretch our staff close to breaking point in the coming weeks,” he said.
Resident doctors in England will hold a five-day strike from17 December until 22 December, coinciding with the surge in cases.
Referring to the strikes, Mackey told the NHS board there was a “genuine and palpable feeling of anger, frustration, exasperation”.
“We’re all just really trying to get our heads around something that feels cruel, feels calculated to cause mayhem at a time when the service is really pulling all the stops out to try and avoid that and keep people safe,” he said.
