Jeremy Hunt admits the NHS has suffered its ‘worst ever’ winter amid record A&E wait times
A record 81,000 sick Brits were forced to wait up to 12 hours on trolleys or chairs to get a hospital bed in January
JEREMY Hunt has admitted the NHS has struggled through its “worst ever” winter.
The Health Secretary acknowledged swamped hospitals faced their highest level of demand for years.
He blamed a major flu outbreak for fuelling the winter crisis.
Speaking to ITV News, he said: “In terms of pressures on the system I think it probably is the worst ever.”
His comments come after official data reveals the NHS missed a raft of critical targets.
A record 81,000 sick Brits were forced to wait up to 12 hours on trolleys or chairs to get a hospital bed in January.
And over 1,000 patients were stuck more than half a day in corridors or side-rooms as medics scrambled to free up beds.
It is more than double the figure for the previous month.
Experts said corridors have now turned into the new emergency wards.
Delays at major A&Es were also the worst on record.
NHS data shows just 77.1 per cent of patients treated at larger hospitals - known as type 1 A&Es - were seen within four hours.
Casualty wards are expected to treat 95 per cent of patients within this time.
Across all hospitals in England performance was 85.3 per cent in January.
Flu-related deaths in the UK have risen to 215 this winter as some 3,745 people were admitted to hospital with the bug last week.
The failings come just a week after NHS bosses admitted hospitals will not meet critical A&E targets until at least 2019.
It has been two-and-a-half years since hospitals last achieved the aim.
MORE ON THE NHS CRISIS
Nuffield Trust Chief Economist John Appleby said: “The figures provide hard evidence on just how bad a winter the NHS is having: over 80,000 patients waited on trolleys for more than four hours at A&E in January, of whom over 1,000 were waiting for over 12 hours.
"These are the highest numbers since records began.
"A year ago we warned that corridors had become the new emergency wards.
"It is deeply concerning that 12 months on the position has worsened.”
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