Responding to the latest winter data from NHS England, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"Nasty winter bugs are still wreaking havoc on the NHS with a worrying spike in norovirus cases over the past week.

"Trust leaders will be hoping they’ve finally turned a corner on flu cases, but rates are still uncomfortably high with Covid-19 and RSV also piling on the pressure.

"While ambulance handover delays are down by a third, demand for hospital beds shows no signs of easing. This challenging situation is being made even trickier due to high levels of delayed discharges, with one in seven hospital beds taken up by patients who were fit to be discharged."