Multiple hospitals across the country have declared critical incidents after emergency departments were swamped by a surge in winter flu cases. As of Tuesday evening, NHS England confirmed at least a dozen hospitals had declared the health system’s highest alert level as the rise in respiratory cases led to “exceptionally high demands”.

Services are "extremely busy" due to a combination of factors including high levels of flu and norovirus, an NHS spokesperson said. Health chiefs have urged people to only call 99

A health boss at a county's NHS that has declared a critical incident said its hospitals had been dealing with high demand for more than a month. The NHS in Northamptonshire said there was mounting pressure on health services,

Several hospitals and NHS trusts across England have declared critical incidents due to sustained pressure on their emergency departments

Whiston Hospital is the latest hospital on Merseyside to declare a critical incident, as the NHS continues to see huge demand on its A&E services. Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Arrowe Park Hospital have also declared critical incidents.