FULL marks to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt for noticing that the first week in January “is the busiest week of the year,” as it was last year and those before.

What a pity he hadn’t provided sufficient resources to NHS England for it to cope with the seasonal upsurge in demand as well as scheduled operations that have been cancelled.

NHS England acute care director Professor Keith Willett accepts that postponing operations and outpatient appointments for a month is “not ideal” for patients.