Heidi Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to quarter four financial and performance figures from NHS Improvement, said:

“The NHS is now in the deepest cash crisis in its history. 

"The Tories have lost complete control of hospital finances and it’s patients who are paying the price. 

"Waiting times continue to go up and up and more and more patients are having to wait longer for vital tests and treatment.

"If it is the case that hospital bosses are being put under pressure to fiddle the figures to save face for Jeremy Hunt, then an urgent investigation must take place. 

"This is a crisis that the Tories can no longer choose to ignore. We need an urgent plan to get hospital finances back on track and to improve patient care.”