Virus adds to pressures out hospitals
News that hospitals are filled to breaking point with patients suffering from the norovirus is concerning indeed.
Latest figures show that last week an average of 1,160 hospital beds were filled each day by patients suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting, or other symptoms of the virus.
This is up 22 per cent compared to the previous week, and more than double what it was during the corresponding week last year.
For most people, the norovirus is a mild irritation, with symptoms easing after a couple of days. But for the more vulnerable members of society - the young, the elderly and those with underlying conditions - it can be much more dangerous.
At the same time, .pressures on hospitals continue to be exacerbated by delayed discharges, with just 41 per cent of patients fit to leave hospital actually being able to leave.
This is an appalling figure, which is in nobody's interests. The NHS, Government and local councils need to work together to end this state of affairs. It is also important that public health bodies are able to get to the bottom of why the virus is so prevalent this year, and how it can be avoided in future.
In the meantime, we all have a responsibility to look after ourselves and those around us, regularly washing our hands with soapy water rather than alcohol-based gel, and cleaning work-surfaces with bleach-based cleaners.
