LONDON

The British health secretary on Thursday said the current cold snap is putting fresh pressure on frontline services as new figures show a rise in the number of patients in hospital beds.

"Today’s data shows we are not out of the woods yet," Wes Streeting said in a statement issued by Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

He noted that while the NHS is better prepared, the current cold snap is putting "fresh pressure" on frontline services.

His remarks came after the NHS warned that Christmas and New Year gatherings may have caused a bounce back in winter viruses.

Figures published Thursday showed that the number of patients in hospital beds with flu has risen by 9% on the previous week (2,924), following two weeks where that number had fallen.

Separately, the average number of patients in hospital with norovirus and COVID per day was also up on the previous week, and overall bed occupancy was up 5% on the previous week.

"There were more than 5,100 more ambulance handovers last week (101,177) than the same week last year," said the NHS, adding that these figures include New Year’s Eve, one of the busiest nights of the year for ambulance crews.

It also mentioned that despite the pressure, the average ambulance handover time was more than 16 minutes quicker than the same time last year – although it was down on the week before.

"It’s clear that the worst is far from over for the NHS this winter, with hospitals again experiencing a rise in patients admitted with flu and other respiratory virus cases last week," said Meghana Pandit, the NHS national medical director.

The cold weather also means doctors are seeing more vulnerable patients with respiratory problems in accident and emergency departments and more injuries from slips and falls due to the icy conditions, she added.