Inside the NHS frontline as medics voice fears over the deadly twin outbreaks of Covid and flu

With the horrors of the pandemic still fresh in their minds, NHS staff now face a deadly twin outbreak of Covid and flu which they believe could cripple the NHS for weeks to come.

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The Mirror has joined doctors and nurses on the frontline as they battle the growing crisis, which a doctor has warned could be the worst winter on record for an already struggling health service thanks to the brutal cuts of the Conservatives.

Staff at the Royal Preston Hospital took us into the respiratory ward, where patients with both flu and Covid have already been admitted.

Consultant pulmonology doctor Dr Mohammed Munavvar said the combination of these conditions can be deadly for vulnerable people such as the elderly, and will have a 'ripple effect' on NHS beds.

While Covid patients are much less sick than two years ago, thanks to vaccines, another 47,000 people have tested positive in the last week alone.

The Mirror has joined the respiratory department staff at the Royal Preston Hospital (

Picture:

Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

Two new substrains of the Omicron variant have also been detected in the UK.

During the pandemic, Dr. Munavvar and his team saved over 6,500 Covid patients, but they also lost at least 1,000.

And the general feeling now is "it was fear of the unknown, this year it's fear of what we know is coming".

Dr Munavva said: 'I am extremely concerned, we are still in October and already starting to see admissions for influenza on top of Covid and the winter pressures we face every year.