NHS faces tougher winter after record summer as £140m urgent care boost announced

Health secretary Yvette Cooper announced £140m in urgent care funding after warning the NHS faces a more challenging winter than normal.

• Cooper announced the funding for 14 schemes across England, including new urgent care centres, ambulance fleets and emergency department upgrades.
• Nearly 7.3 million people attended A&E in England between June and August, the highest figure ever recorded for a summer period, NHS data showed.
• The waiting list for routine hospital treatment rose for a second consecutive month to 7.37 million treatments at the end of August.
• Royal College of Nursing England's Patricia Marquis said the funding was "just another sticking plaster" on an NHS "at breaking point."