NHS staff in A&E experienced their busiest ever September with 2.21m attendances, and 530,824 emergency admissions following the busiest ever summer.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: ‘We know this is likely to be another incredibly busy winter, with extra demand and the threat of a ‘tripledemic' of Covid, flu and RSV, and last month we set out our winter plan which included better data reporting and more care in the community like falls services and virtual wards, so we can see patients as quickly as possible in the busy months ahead.'

Pressure on services resulted in only 74.2% of patients being seen within four years, against the target of 95%.

There were 20.4m A&E attendances so far this year (Jan to Sep), 1.2m more than the same year pre-pandemic (19.14m in 2019).

Only 58.3% of patients had been waiting less than 18 weeks, the constitutional standard.

 The number of waits longer than a year for treatment fell to 282,664, down 28% on last year (395,170 in Aug 2023) and now make up 3.7% of the waiting list - the lowest proportion since September 2020.

NHS staff delivered 11.96m treatments so far this year - 570,263 or 5% more than the same year pre-pandemic (11.39m in the year to August 2019).

In August, the NHS met the cancer 28-day faster diagnosis standard for the fourth month in a row with three quarters (75%) of patients receiving a definitive diagnosis or all-clear within four weeks. More than 195,000 (195,991) people were told within the target time.

Minster of state for health, Karin Smyth said: 'Today's data is a reminder of the pressures that A&Es continue to face after the busiest summer on record for hospitals up and down the country. It is vital that we continue to support our fantastic staff who are working day and night to care for patients.

'With the winter months approaching fast, we have laid out our plans with NHS England to make sure the system is prepared. This includes using virtual wards to support patients out of hospital, making sure pharmacies are supporting general practice during this busy period and running the annual winter vaccination campaign, including offering RSV vaccines to vulnerable groups for the first time.

'This Government is working at pace to radically reform the NHS through the 10-Year Health Plan, focusing on three big shifts from analogue to digital, sickness to prevention and hospital to community, so the NHS can be there for us when we need it, once again.'