The NHS is to use a "sickness surveillance system" to predict illnesses before they happen this winter in a bid to cope with crippling pressures.

The technology combines data gathered daily from GP surgeries, hospital emergency departments, the NHS 111 helpline and walk-in centres with Met Office weather alerts and is intended to give medics early warning of regional outbreaks of flu or other seasonal illnesses.

When it records a surge in any particular illness, it will provide the NHS with several days’ notice that hospitals in the same area are likely to see an influx of patients.

In turn, they will have the chance to reschedule planned surgery, free up beds and ensure that enough staff are on standby, it is hoped.

They might also be able to switch outpatient appointments to “hot clinics” by providing direct access to GPs and have enough warning to arrange isolation areas for infectious patients with illnesses such as the norovirus, which can cause ward closures.

A spokeswoman from Public Health England (PHE), which developed and operates the system, said: “It will assess pressure points when they come up, for instance hospitals in a specific area might expect an increase in heart attack or stroke admissions within a certain number of days because they are complications that can develop from flu.”