Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the first monthly publication of NHS stats, said:

“David Cameron knows that the NHS is going backwards on his watch so he is resorting to cynical news management, changing the way statistics are published to try and minimise negative headlines.

“However they try to present it, these figures show that Tory health policies are failing patients. The waiting list is at a seven-year high, A&E departments are in crisis and the cancer treatment target has been continually missed.

“Patients who depend on the NHS have a right to know what is happening in their local hospital. If the Tories were serious about transparency in the NHS they would restore weekly publication of A&E data.”