Commenting on the latest Combined Performance Summary from NHS England, Nuffield Trust Director of Research John Appleby said:

“Despite great effort from staff across the country, the grim reality is that so far these figures trace the course to an even tougher winter for the NHS. Performance against the headline A&E target is already at the levels that just three years ago we were seeing in January, in the depths of winter. More people are waiting too long both in A&E itself and for emergency admission to hospital compared to last year. Planned care too is being squeezed: the proportion of people waiting more than the six week target for diagnostic tests is at its highest since records began.

“The root cause is a discrepancy between the money and staff available, and the needs of patients. Emergency admissions are up an astonishing 7% since this time last year. The significant sums of much-needed new money pledged by the Prime Minister will arrive next April. The difficult questions for the NHS are how it can use that to make a difference – and how it can cope until then.”