Commenting on the August performance figures published by NHS England today, NHS Providers Head of Analysis Siva Anandaciva said:

“The August performance figures paint another bleak picture for the NHS, with most targets again being missed.

Patients are waiting longer, lists are growing longer, and this is all before winter – traditionally the toughest time

“We know from these long term trends of missed performance targets that the current NHS offering is becoming increasingly impossible to deliver - and together we need to act on why.  Faced with the pressures our members are doing a heroic job, but we don’t want the challenge to become insurmountable, or to lose all the recent progress made for patients on access and quality.

“The figures provide hard evidence, and experience on the frontline shows us, that demand is rising month on month, year on year, in every area and across all sectors. With today’s State of Care report showing social care at a tipping point, there are clues there to solving the seemingly intractable problems across the NHS. We need to be honest with the public about the longest financial squeeze in health and social care history, and urgently come up with sustainable solutions for the future in November’s Autumn Statement ."