Six NHS hospital trusts across England have declared critical incidents as winter pressures intensify, driven by rising flu cases, norovirus, Covid, staff sickness, and delayed discharges. Nottingham University Hospitals and Sherwood Forest Hospitals and four others are now on that status, signalling that services are stretched beyond safe capacity. Emergency departments are experiencing unprecedented demand, with some seeing over five hundred patients a day. Hospitals report long corridor waits, cancelled non-urgent procedures, and extreme pressure on frontline staff. NHS leaders say festive gatherings, cold weather, and icy conditions have contributed to a 'bounce back' in winter viruses and related injuries, and flu admissions are rising again after a brief decline. Declaring a critical incident allows trusts to prioritise life-threatening cases, redeploy staff, and restrict visitors to limit infection spread. The NHS continues to urge the public to use alternatives such as NHS 111 and community pharmacies where possible, and to support timely patient discharges.