article_snippet: England came in spite of higher numbers of patients attending emergency departments, with 434,800 patients visiting A&E - up by more than 8,000 from the previous week and a four-week high.
article_snippet: Emergency departments across England dealt with more than seven million attendances from November to February - an increase of 190,000 on the same period last winter.
article_snippet: A Department of Health spokeswoman said: 'A Department of Health spokeswoman know the NHS is busier than ever before and despite missing the A&E standard for the year, over nine out of ten patients are being seen, treated and discharged within four hours. '
article_snippet: We've given a record £700 million this winter for almost 800 more doctors, 4,700 more nurses and 6,400 more beds and are backing the NHS long term plan which focuses on joining up care and doing more to prevent illness, and have provided an extra £2 billion in funding next year to build a service fit for the future.'
article_snippet: A Department of Health spokeswoman said: 'A Department of Health spokeswoman know the NHS is busier than ever  and despite missing the A&E target for the year, over nine out of 10 patients are being seen, treated and discharged within four hours.
article_snippet: A Department of Health spokesman said: 'the NHS is busier than ever, as innovative treatments and medicines mean people are living longer with complex conditions like heart disease or diabetes. '
article_snippet: We've increased the NHS budget by £16 billion over this Parliament but ultimately We want to reduce pressure on services through We plans to increase access to primary care and look after people better in the community.'
article_snippet: Responding to the latest A&E figures, Sarah Pinto-Duschinsky, director of operations and delivery for NHS England, said: 'This winter NHS staff in NHS England pulled out all the stops and, compared with last year, provided care for an incredible 190,000 more people coming to A&E and 51,000 more being admitted to hospital as an emergency. '
article_snippet: These record numbers - up by between six and nine per cent some weeks - mean that although the NHS won't have met the A&E average 95 per cent target for the full year, staff continued even during this busiest winter ever to treat more than nine in ten people within four hours. '
article_snippet: These winter pressures underline the importance of the wider work under way as part of the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Review which will deliver care in a more integrated way, better helping people get the right treatment, at the right time and in the right place.'