NHS endures busiest ever summer as heatwaves add to pressure

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By Ella Pickover and Ian Jones, PA Media, and Erin Dean

The NHS faced the “busiest summer in its history” as the UK experienced a series of heatwaves, health officials have said.

Emergency department (ED) attendances in June, July and August reached nearly 7.3 million, the highest figure ever over a summer period, NHS England said.

This is up from 7.03 million in summer 2025 and almost one million higher than the figure for summer 2022.

While the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen to its highest level for nine months.

Health secretary Yvette Cooper warned that “extreme demand” on the service is “no longer confined to winter” and NHS leaders warned that the service “never gone into winter on the back of such a heavy summer”.

'Extreme heat an NHS pressure point'

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said: “The NHS is now facing a twin crisis with summer joining winter as a major pressure on services and leaving little room for staff and the system to recover between peak periods.