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Airedale emergency department 'exceptionally busy' with flu cases rising

Friday, 12 December 2025 08:41

Airedale Hospital says its Emergency Department is exceptionally busy and staff are having to prioritise the sickest patients.

The number of patients in hospital across the UK with influenza (flu) has risen more than 50% in the past week and officials have warned there is still no sign this "super flu" peaking yet.

Anyone with a non-urgent medical problem is asked to please call NHS 111, go to www.111.nhs.uk or speak to your GP or pharmacist.

Lianne Robinson, Chief Nurse at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said:

“The number of patients unwell with influenza (flu) in our hospital is rising. The hospital is very busy and our bed capacity fluctuates daily, but our teams continue to work incredibly hard to look after our patients and provide high quality care.

If members of the public are eligible for a flu vaccination I urge them to take it up – they can book their vaccination through their GP surgery or local pharmacy.

We also continue to see incidences of other infections such as norovirus, Covid and RSV, and ask people not to visit the hospital if they have had any symptoms of a respiratory infection, diarrhoea or vomiting over the last 48 hours. This is to minimise the risk of spread of infection across the hospital and our services.

To help prevent the spread of the virus our teams in the Emergency Department, Acute Assessment Unit, ICU, outpatients and on our children’s and respiratory wards are also wearing masks when caring for patients. You may be asked to wear a face mask in these areas to protect yourself, others and staff.""

Our Emergency Department is exceptionally busy and we have to prioritise the sickest patients so we apologise to anyone who has had a long wait."

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