Responding to the latest NHS winter figures from NHS England, the director of communications at NHS Providers, Adam Brimelow said:

"There's been no respite for the NHS this week with a major spike in winter bugs, including norovirus, flu and Covid-19, piling the pressure on the health service.

"The surge in ambulance call outs and handover delays when they arrive with patients at the hospital front door shows just how high demand is on the service right now.

"Every ambulance queuing up outside an emergency department is one less out on the road helping the sickest patients.

"These pressures are being compounded by worrying levels of staff sickness and an unrelenting pressure on beds – despite a much needed boost in bed numbers.

"The double whammy of winter pressures and the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on the public's health too with worrying figures from the Office for National Statistics this week showing that many people are struggling to heat their homes and pay for food.

"Despite these challenges, trust leaders and their teams are doing everything they can to treat patients as quickly and as safely as possible."

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