No one wants to be ill at Christmas. But bugs and viruses are rife, people are rundown after a hectic few weeks – and then there’s the thousands of Christmas decoration and kitchen-related accidents that happen each year.
People tend to panic when they feel they might need medical help. Normal services, such as the GP surgery, are shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Matters are further complicated because Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year.
But with healthcare professionals urging patients to avoid A&E departments at all costs in a bid to stop our ever-stretched NHS from bursting at the seams, what are genuinely sick patients supposed to do?
