The swine flu virus has been blamed for a 497 per cent increase in the use of hospital beds in Lincolnshire.

New statistics released by the NHS Information Centre yesterday revealed that 203 bed days in the NHS Lincolnshire area were taken up by patients with a primary diagnosis of flu during the 2009/10 financial year.

This compares to just 34 during 2008/09 and none in 2007/08.

NHS Lincolnshire said although the majority of cases of the H1N1 virus were deemed to be relatively mild with most patients recovering within a week, in some patients, particularly those with underlying health problems, it caused serious complications.

Spokesman for NHS Lincolnshire, Sarah Howells, said: "As the rate of GP consultations for flu is comparable to flu hospital admissions it is likely that swine flu could have been an factor."

The majority of the 203 bed days filled by flu patients in 2009/10 would be at a United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust site in Lincoln, Boston, Grantham or Louth.

But figures suggest that the hospitals trust was well prepared for an influx of patients with the number of cancelled operations decreasing from 1,283 in 2008/09 to 1,129 in 2009/10.

Often when there is a high number of emergency admissions to hospital, the number of planned cancelled operations rises so that emergency patients can take priority.

Anna Temple, spokesman for hospitals trust, said the increase in the number of people spending time in hospital with flu last year was relatively small when compared with the total number of patients they treat annually.

"The increase will be partly due to the fact that there has been a heightened awareness of the symptoms of flu over the last year, which has encouraged people to act," said Miss Temple.