NHS waiting lists have hit another record high of 7.1million and emergency care is slower than ever ahead of winter strikes.
Official figures reveal A&E and ambulance delays hit new record highs in October.
Nearly half of casualty patients visiting major hospitals waited longer than the four-hour target to be seen – 54.8 per cent.
And a record 43,792 sick Brits could not get a bed on a ward for at least 12 hours, up from 33,000 in the previous month.
Ambulance responses were the slowest since records began, with stroke and heart attack cases waiting one hour and a minute, on average – the target is 18 minutes.