Story by Rory Poulter

Twickenham and Teddington MP, Munira Wilson, has warned the government chaos in Westminster is distracting from the failure of public services, particularly the NHS.

The local MP said the civil war in the Tory party is taking place against a background of a crisis which includes long delays for health treatment.

She gave a personal example to highlight the wider crisis in the health system from GP appointments to emergency care facing people across Twickenham, Teddington and Richmond.

In a tweet, the MP wrote: "While Tories tear themselves apart in civil war, public services are on their knees.

"I dashed straight from fracking vote to West Middlesex Hospital A&E to look after my daughter who came in this pm after hurting her wrist.

"Absolutely heaving in here. Sign says average wait time 8 hours."

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In theory, there is a target for A&E departments to see patients within four hours. Figures for August show that, nationally, just 71 per cent of patients were seen within that target, which is the joint worst performance on record.

The number waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit them to actually being admitted hit 32,776 people in September.

This was up from 28,756 in August and is the highest number in records going back to August 2010.

Separately, a total of 7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August - the highest since records began.

The NHS is establishing so-called 'winter war rooms' in England to monitor A&E attendances, divert ambulances and identify spare hospital beds.

Regional health bosses have been ordered to establish 24/7 'data-driven control centres', which will provide accurate information on bed capacity in hospitals and care homes.

They will be run by 'clinicians and experts' who can identify pressure points and act to reduce deadly ambulance delays and lengthy waits in A&E.