Heidi Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, commenting on NHS England’s latest combined performance summary for March 2016, said:

 “This is Black Thursday for the NHS.

“These figures show an NHS in constant crisis and there appears to be no sign of things getting any better.

“Jeremy Hunt might have been the longest serving Heath Secretary, but on his watch patients are waiting longer than ever before to be treated in A&E.

“The reality is that this deepening crisis is a direct result of the Tories’ failed policies. People are finding it harder to see their GP and cuts to social care have left hundreds of thousands of older people without the support they need to live at home independently. This is leaving many people with no choice but to go to A&E.

“Ministers can’t sit back and allow this crisis to go on any longer. It’s time the Tories put patients first and started repairing the damage they have done to the NHS.”