The number of A&E patients seen within the four-hour waiting target was the lowest on record last month, according to the latest NHS England figures.
The report, which shows the start of winter pressures, also found a substantial increase in patients on treatment waiting lists, as well as an increase in the number waiting longer than the 18 weeks or less target.
GPs warned that this will be the ‘toughest winter yet’, while MPs called the figures ‘hugely concerning’, especially as ‘winter is only just beginning’.
This comes after Pulse revealed that an ambulance trust running GP out-of-hours services was forced to reduce the number of doctors on shift over winter, after overspending its budget earlier in the year.
Full story in Pulse, 13 December 2018