Overview
- Provisional data show 420,324 ambulance handovers in January, the highest for the month since 2020, with the average handover time improving to 37:16 from 39:27 a year ago.
- Flu pressure eased last week to an average of 1,491 inpatients per day, a 25% week‑on‑week fall from 1,987, with 59 patients in critical care.
- Norovirus continued to strain capacity with an average of 904 patients in hospital each day and 1,093 adult beds closed or occupied due to the virus.
- From April, the RSV vaccination offer will extend to adults aged 80 and over and all residents in care homes for older adults.
- The winter response has been supported by £450 million for urgent and emergency care, 500 new ambulances, and 18.8 million flu jabs delivered since the autumn campaign began.