NHS England has published its monthly NHS performance statistics.

The figures show:

• overall A&E performance in April against the four-hour target was 88.5 %, up from 84.6% the previous month
• emergency admissions have grown by 6.8% since April 2017
• the waiting list for routine operations has risen by 5% compared to the same time last year.

Responding to the latest performance data from NHS England, Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers deputy chief executive, said:

"It is encouraging to see some recovery in overall performance against the four-hour target in A&E, after the toughest winter for the NHS on record.

"Our report published today conveys the scale of the challenges trusts faced, and sets out what must be done to ensure the NHS is ready next time.

"No one should be in any doubt that the pressures on trusts and front line staff remain severe.

No one should be in any doubt that the pressures on trusts and front line staff remain severe.

 
"The increase in emergency admissions – up nearly 7% compared to the same time last year – shows how they have risen to the challenge.

"But services are clearly overstretched.

"The number of patients who face delays after being told they should be admitted – so called trolley waits – has risen by more than 40% compared to the same time last year.

"And performance against the 18-week target for routine operations such as knee and hip replacements has slipped back again. The number of people on the waiting list has grown by 5% in the last year, and the number waiting more than 18 weeks has risen by 35% in 12 months.

"Many of these patients have to live with continued pain, restricted mobility, and the risk that their condition could deteriorate further.

"Without urgent steps to address staff and bed shortages in hospitals, community, mental health and ambulance services, and in social care, there is a real prospect that many of the hard won gains of the last decade will be lost."