Official statistics released this morning by NHS England on the performance of England’s Accident and Emergency departments last week reveal:

• 108,301 patients admitted to hospital last week – an all-time high for a single week;
• 30,102 patients waited over 4 hours for treatment – the highest number for 18 months and twice as many as this week last year; and
• 6,587 patients waited between 4 and 12 hours on trolleys for a ward bed – the highest number for 18 months and more than twice the number in same week last year.

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said:

“After a week of worrying reports about full A&E departments, it is clear hospitals in all parts of England are struggling to cope.

“This Tory-led Government pushed elderly care services to the brink, leaving people turning to A&E. Whole hospitals are being overwhelmed by the pressure.

“Hospital A&Es in England have now missed this Government’s A&E target for 70 weeks running and Labour has repeatedly warned David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt about the danger of ignoring the warning signs. They have ignored the problem for far too long and now it is threatening to drag down the NHS this winter. It shows they can’t be trusted with the NHS.”