Figures show NHS coped well over Xmas, but warning signs remain

Winter means extra pressure on the NHS in England, and while figures published today for the the last two weeks of December show the health service is coping well, there are some warning signs.

A rise in the number of ambulance patients waiting more than an hour to be handed over, and more patients arriving by ambulance at emergency departments last week than at any time last winter.

The Department of Health and Social Care has already distributed £420 million to help with winter planning.