NHS England figures show that more than 150,000 people have waited in an ambulance for at least half an hour to be admitted to hospital in England this winter to date.

The waits, which are higher than at any time in the past five years, showcase the pressures the NHS is under this winter. One-in five patients have waited 30 minutes or more in ambulances before being admitted in the first nine weeks of winter.

The absolute figure, 151,798, exceeds the highest levels in recent years, 133,000 at the same stage of winter 2019-20, by 14 per cent. The number of ambulances waiting 60 minutes in the winter to date now stands at 60,687, up 82 per cent on the past two winters and by far the highest figure in the past five years for which data is available.

Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “We still had around 70,000 NHS staff off sick each day last week, as the number of ambulances taking patients to A&E was up again on the previous seven days, making it the busiest week since the start of December.

“Despite this, hard-working staff are doing everything possible to get people home to their loved ones and out of hospital safely, as hundreds more beds were freed up each day compared to the week before – all while delivering as many routine checks and procedures as possible, including vital diagnostic checks, as staff continue to make inroads delivering treatments disrupted by Covid.”