STORY
Nearly 7.3 million people attended accident and emergency departments in England between June and August, making 2026 the busiest summer recorded by the NHS. The total was approximately 240,000 higher than during the same period last year and almost one million above the figure recorded in 2022.
Ambulance services responded to approximately 2.46 million incidents during the three months, while NHS 111 received more than three million calls. Despite the increased demand, hospitals treated more emergency patients within four hours than during any previous summer. The figures were published alongside NHS England’s regular emergency-care statistics.
NHS leaders said five periods of exceptionally hot weather contributed to admissions and argued that summer was increasingly becoming a second period of intense pressure alongside winter. The waiting list for planned hospital treatment also rose to approximately 7.3 million cases in July. Although extreme heat can worsen respiratory, cardiovascular and other medical conditions, the emergency-care figures alone cannot establish how many attendances were caused directly by the weather.