RECORD waiting lists, extended ambulance delays and rocketing flu patients - are just some of the challenges faced by Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT).

The latest NHS England figures show there were 92 flu patients being treated by HFFT as of January 1 – up from none the week before.

Of them, 87 were in general and acute wards, and a further five were patients in critical care.

It represents an increase from the start of the winter – no flu patients were being cared for at Hampshire Hospitals Trust on November 14, the earliest available figures for this winter.

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Sarah Scobie, deputy director of health think tank the Nuffield Trust, said: "There are still difficult weeks ahead for the NHS, as the system struggles to discharge patients from a hospital in a timely way."

Ambulance delays at A&E departments across the country also reached a new high in the week of January 1.

At Hampshire Hospitals Trust, 12 per cent of the 710 ambulance arrivals took more than an hour, while 24 per cent waited 30 minutes or more.

NHS targets state trusts should complete 95 per cent of all ambulance handovers in 30 minutes, with all conducted in less than one hour.

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A handover delay does not always mean a patient has waited in the ambulance as they could have been moved into an A&E department but the handover was not completed.

Another key issue facing the NHS is bed occupancy. As of January 1, 96 per cent of the 838 beds across adult and paediatric general and acute wards at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were occupied.

Of the occupied beds, 757 were for adult beds and 46 for children.

A further 22 of 27 critical care beds were occupied.

NHS national medical director for England Professor Sir Stephen Powis added: "We knew this winter would be one of the most difficult in the history of the NHS and I want to thank staff for all their hard work in caring for and treating so many patients while dealing with record demand on services, including the enormous pressure from flu and Covid."

Hampshire Hospital Trust has been contacted for comment.