Latest NHS England figures show:

• Average 12,654 patients a day ready to leave hospital but can't be discharged
• Fewer ambulance handover delays than same time last year despite higher demand
• More than 121,000 NHS vacancies in England
• Anxiety, stress and depression behind 28% of staff sickness absences
• Almost 7.8m appointments and treatments (almost 6.5 million people) on waiting list.

Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said:

"Demand for and pressure on the NHS continue to bite. Last winter was the worst that many in the NHS can remember and this time could be even tougher.

"As temperatures plummet, pressure on the NHS hots up with winter illnesses and bugs like flu adding to already high demand on services and staff.

"Every day thousands of people are stuck in hospital beds when they could be recovering at or closer to home, largely because of a lack of capacity and resources in social care and community health services – with serious knock-on effects on the rest of the already stretched system.

"With more than 121,000 vacancies across the NHS in England and staff off sick due to anxiety, stress or depression – the equivalent of more than 571,500 lost days – hardworking hospital, ambulance, mental health and community trusts are up against it as they strive to treat more patients as quickly as possible and to bring down waiting lists – with the longest waits for planned procedures having been successfully reduced.

"Trusts are doing all they can to ensure patients receive timely care in the right settings, including investing in urgent community response services and more support at home where appropriate, as well as working hard to reduce handover delays when patients arrive at hospital in ambulances.

"However, to be able to give patients the best possible care this winter and beyond the NHS needs the right numbers and mix of staff, better supported social care, more beds and more investment to modernise buildings and equipment."

You can follow our analysis of the latest winter situation report figures from NHS England through our NHS Winter Watch campaign.