NHS crisis: do strikes threaten the improving hospital waits?

On the face of it, the improved monthly figures for ambulance and Accident and Emergency waiting times suggest that the NHS in England is on the mend.

In January ambulances took an average of 32 minutes to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks – down from an hour and a half in December.

But with thousands of ambulance workers in England set to strike tomorrow and further industrial action planned, health leaders have warned that the Prime Minister risks missing his pledge to reduce NHS waiting times.