London NHS Turns Focus To Winter After Record-Breaking Summer Demand

London’s NHS is turning its attention to winter resilience after new figures showed services faced record levels of demand during a summer of sustained extreme heat.

NHS England says urgent care performance was maintained and ambulance response times remained steady despite five widespread heatwaves, seven UKHSA heat health alerts and temperatures reaching 38.1C.

Londoners experienced 40 days with temperatures above 30C during summer 2026, while demand on emergency services remained high.

In August alone, 408,223 people attended A&E departments across the capital. NHS England says four-hour performance improved to 78.1 per cent, while London Ambulance Service dealt with 129,168 incidents during the month.

Category 2 ambulance response times stood at 32 minutes and 23 seconds in August. NHS England also reported more than 5,700 additional ambulance incidents compared with April.

Dr Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director for the NHS in London, said: “This summer has tested London’s NHS services, with record demand sustained from May right through to August.
“Our staff have kept services running through some of the toughest working conditions we’ve seen, all while continuing to deliver the care Londoners need.
“As we look ahead to winter, planning is already underway to ensure our services remain ready for whatever demand comes our way.”

Jason Killens KAM, Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service, said the extreme heat had placed additional pressure on services but that extra resources and planning had helped teams respond to increased 999 demand.

NHS teams across London are now preparing for the winter months, with demand expected to remain high.

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