This week in the Journal of Hospital Infection (JHI), Monica Fletcher (Centre for Applied Respiratory Research, Innovation, and Implementation, and University of Oxford) and HIS Secretary James Price (Centre of Infection and Antimicrobial Research, Brighton and Sussex Medical School) outline how hospitals across the UK are again facing immense strain as respiratory infections such as COVID-19, influenza and RSV and norovirus surge, with patients of these illnesses occupying one in six NHS beds. We are aware at HIS that many of our members and volunteers will face a difficult winter season as we head into 2026.

Fletcher and Price look to the 'unlearned' lessons of COVID-19 – how we saw other infections fall as we took additional pandemic precautions, but have not carried these into the current winter season.

One of the clearest lessons they outline is that infection prevention and control (IPC) is everyone’s responsibility and not just that of specialist IPC teams. During the pandemic, engagement across all staff groups grew as individuals understood how COVID-19 spread and how to mitigate it. This collective commitment proved invaluable and must not be lost.

The pandemic also highlighted the chronic under-resourcing of occupational health (OH). Staff health and wellbeing are pivotal to sustaining services, yet many OH services struggled to meet demand after years of underinvestment. Strengthening this specialty should be a national priority if we are to protect the workforce and improve resilience.

Finally, the pandemic demonstrated the transformative power of research and collaboration. Advances in treatment, vaccine development, outbreak management, and real-time surveillance were achieved under extraordinary pressure. Yet as the crisis receded, research capacity and data integration were again deprioritised. This is a missed opportunity: research should be viewed not as an optional extra but as a cornerstone of preparedness and innovation.

Fletcher and Price also note how simple public health measures (mask use, hand hygiene, physical distancing) were highly effective when applied early and in combination. Fletcher talked about these simple precautions the public can take in more detail with Danny Pike on BBC Radio – you can listen to the interview on BBC Sounds (skip to the 1hr 20 mark), and share with family and friends to keep them informed. 

The full paper is published and freely available for all to read and download from the JHI website.