Waiting times in A&E units across England are at their worst in a decade, official figures show.
Government targets in England state that 95 per cent of patients must be seen within a four-hour window, however latest figures from October to December show that just 92.6% were seen within this time.
The figures come amid fears that hospitals are facing extreme pressures as six declare “major incidents” across England.
“Major incidents” describe an incident which presents a severe threat to the health of patients and may require specialist measures to be implemented by staff.
Elsewhere in the UK targets are also being missed and additional “major incidents” declared.
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain before the figures were released, Health Minister Norman Lamb admitted that the NHS “is not meeting” its targets and cited Britain’s ageing population as a factor.
“We rightly have the toughest targets in the developed world,” Mr Lamb said. “We are not meeting them.
“We are living longer, the pressures of people living with chronic conditions. We hear lots of reports from A&E departments of older people particularly turning up more ill than they have in the past.”
In December Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of NHS England acknowledged that A&E departments were under pressure.
Speaking at a conference in London, he said: “The system is creaking; it is under pressure at the moment.
“A&Es are having to address increasing demand, the ambulance services are struggling in many parts of the country and we have a number of issues to deal with, which we are tackling.”