Health secretary warns NHS faces a harder winter than normal as nurses call her £140m boost a 'sticking plaster'

Almost 7.3 million people attended A&E in England between June and August, the busiest summer on record. Yvette Cooper's £140m will be spread across 14 schemes, covering new urgent care centres, upgraded emergency departments and expanded ambulance fleets. Patricia Marquis of the Royal College of Nursing England said the funding was welcome in the short term. Shadow health secretary Damian Hinds pressed the government to explain how the spending would be financed.

The King's Fund warned the NHS faces a 'twin crisis' with no recovery time between peaks.

NHS medical director Prof Frankie Swords says flu admissions are the 'highest' she can remember.

Swords warned of 'ominous' signs, with patients still 'waiting longer than we would like'.