Thousands waiting hours for hospital beds, slow ambulance response times and lengthening waiting lists, even before the heatwave increased health risks and ambulances reported being under extreme pressure.
This week all ten ambulance services across England put themselves on the highest alert level, saying they're struggling to effectively meet demand. At the same time, the UK Health Security Agency declared a Level 3 heat-health alert for much of the country warning of the increased risk to health, with a likely increase in demand for NHS services.
The latest NHS figures show, in June, 22,034 people across England waited more than 12 hours in A&E to be admitted to a ward bed, after a decision to admit them was taken. That was up from 19,053 in May, and the third highest number since records began in August 2010.
