The wave of pressure on the NHS has been building for some time - and it's in danger of being engulfed

There is never a good time to have record-breakingly bad performance figures, but the timing of today’s numbers couldn’t be much worse.

The Christmas break is historically one of the most difficult times for our health service.

Results published today show thousands of people are spending 12 hours or more waiting in emergency departments, ambulances aren't getting to patients when they should be, and patients receiving treatment for illnesses such as cancer aren't starting their treatment when they should.

Record high attendances, record low performance, missed ambulance response times - these are the headlines that will chill NHS chief executives, Welsh Government and crucially the thousands of staff working at full stretch to provide the best care.

While shocking in themselves, these figures are not a surprise - just ask the staff themselves.

This wave of pressure has been building over time and the service is now being engulfed.

The population is old and getting older, frail and getting frailer.

People are living with multiple chronic conditions and adding more to the list as the years go by.

In many ways, that is the success of the NHS.

We are being kept alive long enough to be able to live with multiple chronic conditions.

Where once upon a time, a heart attack would have killed you while in your prime, you can live, the heart saved, valves repaired, transplants undertaken.

But it is clear lifesaving treatment is needed for the NHS.

It, like a heart, is a complex organ.

It has many moving parts that when working well can ensure the lives of thousands. But for years the NHS, through various measures, has been showing an irregular beat.

Today’s figures show a significant deterioration. The NHS needs those in positions of government and in health boards to scrub up, get to theatre and perform surgery the likes of which has never been seen before.