There were a record breaking 2.43 million total A&E attendances in March – 16,000 more than the previous record high in May 2024. Despite the bumper demand, almost four in five patients arriving in A&E were seen within four hours (77.1%) – the best performance since July 2021.

The record-breaking month was driven in part following reports of a meningitis outbreak mid-March, which saw a marked increase in demand.

Read more – NHSE (16/4/26)