Responding to the latest winter reporting data from NHS England and NHS Improvement, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers Saffron Cordery said:

"It has been another tough week for the NHS.

"As the chief medical officer highlighted yesterday, increasing cases of COVID-19 in the community and in hospital admissions confirms that the pandemic is far from over.

"This is adding to the many pressures on the NHS.

"The rise in staff absences with more than a third of those being COVID-19 related is a growing concern because of the knock-on effect on patient care including efforts to tackle care backlogs and the ongoing demand for services.

"It is worrying that we are seeing considerably more patients staying in hospital longer than they need to as well as sustained high rates of critical care beds being occupied.

"Ambulance handover delays also remain uncomfortably high, demonstrating continued pressures right across health and care systems."