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| Leak shows full extent of NHS winter crisis | Leak shows full extent of NHS winter crisis |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Record numbers of patients are facing long waits in A&Es as documents leaked to the BBC show the full extent of the winter crisis in the NHS in England. | Record numbers of patients are facing long waits in A&Es as documents leaked to the BBC show the full extent of the winter crisis in the NHS in England. |
| Nearly a quarter of patients waited longer than four hours at A&E last week with just one hospital hitting its target. | Nearly a quarter of patients waited longer than four hours at A&E last week with just one hospital hitting its target. |
| And huge numbers also faced long waits for a bed when A&E staff admitted them into hospital as emergency cases. | And huge numbers also faced long waits for a bed when A&E staff admitted them into hospital as emergency cases. |
| There were over 18,000 "trolley waits" of over four hours last week. | There were over 18,000 "trolley waits" of over four hours last week. |
| Some 485 of them were for over 12 hours - treble the number seen during the whole of January last year. | |
| The figures come from a document compiled by NHS Improvement, one of the regulators in England, and show this winter is proving to be the most difficult for a generation. | The figures come from a document compiled by NHS Improvement, one of the regulators in England, and show this winter is proving to be the most difficult for a generation. |
| Since the start of December hospitals have only seen 82.3% of patients who attended A&E within the four-hour target. | Since the start of December hospitals have only seen 82.3% of patients who attended A&E within the four-hour target. |
| That is the worst performance since the target was introduced in 2004. | That is the worst performance since the target was introduced in 2004. |
| The trolley waits are also at their highest ever levels. | The trolley waits are also at their highest ever levels. |
| Chris Hopson, of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said what was being seen was not "ordinary winter pressures". | Chris Hopson, of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said what was being seen was not "ordinary winter pressures". |
| "Trusts are really struggling," he added. | "Trusts are really struggling," he added. |
| It comes after the British Red Cross said over the weekend the NHS was facing a "humanitarian crisis" this winter. | It comes after the British Red Cross said over the weekend the NHS was facing a "humanitarian crisis" this winter. |
| Ministers have denied this is the case, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying on Monday the health service was coping well given the increasing demands. | Ministers have denied this is the case, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying on Monday the health service was coping well given the increasing demands. |
| But he did suggest the four-hour target may have to be relaxed - it has not been met since July 2015. | |
| He said there were growing number of patients attending A&E units with minor conditions and suggested in order to "protect" the four-hour guarantee in the future it may need to be only applied to those with urgent needs. |