Why you might be seriously ill right now and what to do about it, according to top GP

The UK is being hit by a quartet of viruses crippling hospitals - with one top GP warning that people are facing more severe effects of the winter illnesses.

People are being 'wiped out' by both flu and norovirus, both of which could have changed this year to make the illnesses more serious. “We’re seeing a lot of diarrhoea and vomiting, a lot of coughs and colds. And for many illnesses, we’re seeing that a lot of people are really struggling to shake them off, they’ll report feeling unwell for three to four weeks, all over the Christmas period.

“Most of it is viral and people hate hearing that because they want antibiotics to get better soon," explained Bolton GP Dr Helen Wall.

Right now, the number of people sick in hospital with flu is still spiralling in England, prompting fears for the state of packed hospitals. There were an average of 5,408 flu patients in the nation's hospitals in the week ending January 5. That’s up from an average of just 4,469 a week earlier.

‌Staff in Greater Manchester hospitals have spoken out in recent weeks about 'severe overcrowding', and severe shortages of beds. In the days before Christmas, high-level health sources told the Manchester Evening News of standing room only in the region’s A&Es, waits of more than 36 hours for a bed, frail patients breaking limbs, and elderly people in their 80s and 90s spending hours lying on trolleys in corridors.

Staff have come forward with stories of ‘extreme overcrowding’, where emergency departments have been filled with as many as 180 people. Data has shown that hundreds of patients in Greater Manchester were stuck in ambulances for more than an hour, waiting to be admitted to scarce hospital beds over Christmas in Greater Manchester. There are