After a winter crisis in A&E departments, official figures reveal that performance has deteriorated further rather than improved this summer.

Official NHS figures show a record 300,000 patients arrived at hospital A&E departments in a single week as the overall A&E waiting time target was missed last 4 weeks running - pressure that was not seen during winter. The figures led the President of the College of Emergency Medicine to warn that lives will be endangered if the situation does not improve.

Over 20,000 patients each week wait longer than the recommended four hours to be seen at A&E, whilst a further 4,000 spend up to 12 hours on hospital trolleys for a ward bed as A&E departments admitted a record 78,000 patients in a single week.

Jamie Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, said:

“People can see that the NHS is heading downhill under this Government. A&Es are facing the worst year in a decade – there’s now a summer crisis that’s worse than the winter one. David Cameron’s complacency is not helping.

"Ministers have taken social care support away from older people and made it harder for others to get a GP appointment. A&Es are struggling to deal with the extra pressure.

"Hospitals are operating above safe levels – A&Es and hospital wards are full to bursting. It’s further proof you can’t trust the Tories with the NHS.”