Latest NHS England figures show:

• Demand for ambulances still high, 17% greater than same time last year
• Hours lost to ambulance handover delays down despite more patients taken to hospital
• Three times more people in hospital with flu than same time last year
• 95 per cent of adult general and acute beds full.

Adam Brimelow, director of communications, NHS Providers, said:

"Constant pressure means it's been another tough and busy winter for the NHS.

"Week after week staff pull out all the stops to see patients as quickly as possible in the face of a 'capacity crunch' as huge demand continues to outstrip resources.

"Winter bugs and illnesses including flu are still putting services under strain while staff continue to work hard to reduce the longest waits for care and make significant inroads to overall waiting lists.

"Nobody in the NHS wants people to have to wait long for treatment but, sadly, these waits are nothing new. Waiting times and lists were growing long before the pandemic, the result of years of severe workforce shortages and underinvestment in services.

"Delays discharging patients from hospital persist. More than 13,200 beds are taken up every day by patients who are fit to leave but can't, often in part due to limited resources in the community - which the government must tackle urgently."

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