Analysis of NHS data by the RCEM, shows that from Jun-Sep 2025, over HALF A MILLION patients had an A&E stay of over 12 hours from their time of arrival in England.
This is MORE than the entire winter of 2021-22, during which the UK experienced one of the worst Covid waves.
In the latest weekly figures, there were 188 people Covid deaths across the UK.
188 Covid deaths. In just one week.
3,866 Covid deaths so far this year.
(H/t @gwladwr)
@gwladwr Covid is causing far more disruption than flu at the moment, hospitalising more than THREE TIMES as many people…
@gwladwr …and this is probably amplified considerably by the govt’s irresponsible decision to hugely restrict access to Covid vaccines this autumn.
Hardly anyone is eligible anymore, even many of those who are clinically vulnerable.
As I’ve said all along, this will cost lives.
@gwladwr We do have the tools available to blunt the impact of winter surges of airborne viruses like Covid & flu.
Many recommendations have been voiced by experts at the Covid Inquiry about what *should* be done to reduce airborne transmission in hospitals…
…but is anyone listening?
@gwladwr If you’d like to find out more about the flawed chain of decisions which led to the utterly inadequate infection control guidance we have in hospitals today, please see my megathread below which walks you through some of the shocking evidence from the Covid Inquiry (module 3) ⬇️
To anyone paying attention, these illness absence figures should not come as a surprise.
By early December, UKHSA was warning about how flu was spreading like wildfire through classrooms, leading to very high infection rates in school-age children (pink & green lines on chart).
“When it comes to flu, the focus is often on droplet transmission, but there’s also evidence of aerosol transmission. That means that ventilation & air filtration are HUGELY important.
“Are the Govt looking to improve that to help deal with all the respiratory infections?”
On the BBC News this evening, Medical Editor @BBCFergusWalsh clearly stated:
“As for facemasks, simple surgical masks are *not* good at stopping viruses. You really need a properly fitted tight respirator mask for that”…
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…which begs the question, why does the NHS infection control guidance STILL only recommend surgical masks for treating patients with airborne viruses like flu & Covid… and not proper FFP3 masks?
Even Baroness Hallett was rather perplexed by this during the Covid Inquiry.
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The IPC experts (Dr Warne & Dr Shin) who provided independent specialist advice to the Covid Inquiry both stated that IPC guidelines should be updated to recommend routine use of FFP3 masks when caring for patients with ANY respiratory virus.
1️⃣ He only mentions that people who are sick “must wear a mask in public spaces”…
…but why did he not also suggest that people who are *not* sick should wear a mask to prevent themselves getting sick in the first place?!
Like this ⬇️
2️⃣ Why didn’t @danielelkeles mention FFP masks?
Surgical masks DON’T protect against airborne transmission of flu.
“Live viruses could be detected in the air behind ALL surgical masks tested. By contrast, properly fitted respirators could provide at least a 100-fold reduction.”