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Just 85.3% of patients were seen at A&E within four hours in January - the second-worst rate on record.

NHS England admitted the "worst flu season in years" had put a strain on services.

The joint worst months since records began were January and December last year on 85.1%.

More than 1,000 patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be seen - more than double the previous month.

And more patients than ever recorded, 81,003, had to wait longer than four hours from the "decision to admit" to hospital admission.

Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the figures showed the NHS does "not currently have a sustainable model" to cope during the busy winter months.

(Image: REUTERS)

"The last six weeks has seen the acute services of the NHS under a sustained period of stress due to 'normal' winter pressures along with a surge in influenza," he added.

"Neither of these were unpredictable.

"But both have combined to cause the issues that have been widely reported across the country.

"Last year we coined the phrase 'eternal winter', but the last month and a half has shown an even steeper decline in performance as demonstrated by all the data available - particularly around ambulance delays, the four-hour emergency target and bed occupancy both in acute beds and critical care."

There were 526,000 emergency admissions in the month, the highest rate ever recorded.

(Image: PA)

NHS England said more than 1.7million A&E patients overall, out of 2million, were seen within four hours last month, an increase of 5.72% on the daily average for the same month last year.

There were 36 cases of ambulances being diverted to other A&E departments last week, compared with 43 in the previous week.

An NHS England spokesman said: "Despite the worst flu season in seven years, A&E performance improved this month.

"It was better than both the month before, and was better too than the same time last winter.

"This was partly helped by the fact that NHS-related delayed transfers of care fell to their lowest in four years freeing up beds for patients needing emergency hospitalisation."

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "Despite the very best efforts of our brilliant NHS staff, patients and their families will understandably be profoundly concerned by the downturn in standards.

"The appalling human stories arising from the worst winter crisis on record have shocked the nation.

“Unlike the Tories, Labour will give our NHS the funding it needs to ensure the health service remains a world class service all year round.”