Is YOUR local hospital one of the worst in Britain? From waiting in A&E to the backlog of routine operations and cancer treatment, our interactive data tracker exposes the performance of all trusts amid the ‘quad-demic’

Use MailOnline’s ultimate NHS data tracker to see exactly how your hospital is faring amid the ‘quad-demic’, as the NHS struggles with exceptionally high levels of flu and rising cases of human metapneumovirus (hMPV).

Hospitals and A&E departments are ‘full’ due to the ‘relentless’ pressure from a stream of patients infected with flu, Covid, norovirus and RSV.

Trusts facing crises on all fronts, bursting at the seams in one of the toughest winters on record for the NHS, have reported critical incidents and warned patients they risk being turned away unless they are really ill. Others have reintroduced face masks and restricted visitors to cope with the ‘tidal wave’ of infections.

In addition to the quad-demic, cases of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) – another respiratory infection that causes cold symptoms – are also increasing in Britain.

Hospitals in China are reportedly overwhelmed by a sudden spike in the disease, but Beijing has played down growing fears that have dominated headlines in Britain and the US. Experts have called on Chinese authorities – who initially downplayed the Covid threat – to be more transparent about the virus outbreak.

Even before this year’s winter carnage struck, NHS sites were struggling to meet key emergency and cancer targets. Waiting lists had risen to unprecedented levels in the wake of the pandemic.

As part of the government’s plans to thwart the accumulated backlogs, Ministers have promised to send millions of NHS patients privately.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has threatened to shame failing hospitals in the league tables and sack NHS managers if they fail to make improvements as part of Labour’s reforms.

Our postcode search, praised by NHS chiefs, uses monthly performance figures collected centrally. It includes all 120+ NHS trusts.

It reveals the proportion of patients seen within four hours in congested emergency departments, and how their confidence compares to the overall average in England. It also exposes performance on three critical cancer targets, as well as backlogs in routine procedures such as hip and knee replacements.

Under the healthcare system’s own rules, all patients requiring treatment have the right to be seen within 18 weeks.

Yet in October almost three in five patients were registered for routine procedures at the country’s worst-performing trust.

In A&E, fewer than half of patients attending major casualty units were seen within four hours – the NHS target – across dozens of trusts.

Ambulance response times, which are tracked regionally rather than by trust, are also plotted by MailOnline’s data journalism team.

Experts believe that the crises in both emergency departments and routine surgeries are being exacerbated by so-called ‘bed blockers’, who are medically fit for discharge but have nowhere else to go.

More than 12,000 hospital beds are occupied every day by patients who no longer have a medical need to stay, but who cannot leave. The sheer scale of the crisis – equivalent to the closure of 26 entire hospitals – is forcing managers to cancel operations and causing ambulance delays because there are so few beds for new admissions.

Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, praised the extraordinary level of detail packed into it for readers.

He said: ‘MailOnline’s NHS Tracker is an important tool that allows patients in England to access data about their local hospital at the touch of a button.

‘The NHS has never been busier heading into winter.

‘Staff are working incredibly hard to cope with the current pressures. Plans are already in place to manage the additional demand for services, and through our new elective care reform plan we will improve patient waiting times.

‘We continue to work with the Government on the 10-year health plan to fit the NHS for the future.

‘We welcome ideas from the public, patients and staff as part of the biggest conversation about the NHS through Change.nhs.uk.’

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth reported critical incidents today, while the panic button was pressed at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital last night. NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly raised the alarm last week.

Critical incidents can be reported when health and care services are so busy that special measures are needed to restore normal operations and keep patients safe.

Bosses at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust warned that ‘non-life-threatening conditions will lead to long waiting times’, adding: ‘Beds in both hospitals are full and attendance in our emergency departments is extremely high, meaning there there is currently no capacity to accept people. even more patients who need our care.’

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust claimed the unsustainable pressure it was struggling with was ‘made worse by the cold weather’.

A spokesperson said: ‘Our emergency department is currently very full and if you do not have an urgent or life-threatening condition you may be referred to other healthcare services.’

Meanwhile, Royal Bolton Hospital has reintroduced face masks in patient areas to prevent the spread of viruses and infections.

Announcing the measure, a spokesperson added: ‘We are asking for your help to stop the spread of flu and other winter illnesses by wearing a face mask when entering patient areas in our hospital, such as wards.

‘We will monitor this temporary measure until the peak of flu infections subsides in the coming weeks.’

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs four hospitals in Sussex, has also urged patients and frontline staff to don coverings again.

Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said flu in particular was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

He said: ‘This flu season is not an outlier, but the problem is that our emergency care system is so overwhelmed and vulnerable that a normal flu season – which is what we are having at the moment – causes serious operational problems.

‘And it would be a mistake to think that this is solely a result of winter viruses. We have been chronically overloaded and overwhelmed for several years.

‘It is a significant flu outbreak, but the problem is that there is simply no capacity to deal with it. So it really is a straw that breaks the camel’s back.’

How our NHS data tracker works

All data for MailOnline’s tracker comes from NHS England, which publishes monthly performance statistics.

Healthcare targets come from official NHS guidance.

We’ve linked NHS trusts to postcodes based on distance, showing those within a 15 mile radius for outer London and a 3 mile radius for inner London. Private providers and some community-based trusts are excluded.

When you enter your postcode into the search bar it will be listed in alphabetical order of the trusts found in your area, not necessarily your nearest trust.

Given the way NHS data is stored, only ‘Type 1’ visits or visits to your typical A&E center are used for the four-hour wait analysis.

For 12-hour wait times, all types of emergency care are counted, including ‘Type 2’ or special emergency care.

Ambulance arrival times are registered per region. We have matched each individual trust to their regional ambulance service.