Our live coverage has come to an end
During a special day of coverage, we reported on the pressures faced by NHS patients, doctors and nurses
BBC South East was given exclusive access to South East Coast Ambulance Service and Maidstone Hospital
We had teams at healthcare settings across Kent, Sussex and Surrey bringing insights from patients and staff on the frontline
You can share your NHS stories by messaging us on Facebook, X or by emailing southeastnews@bbc.co.uk
Dr Salwa Malik, from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, is critical of the lack of hospital beds.
She said: "It is unfortunately becoming the norm having high levels of patients on trolleys.
"I'm talking not just one, two or three. I'm talking 46 patients in corridors.
"It's not a clinical place and not an appropriate space for patients to receive care."
Jo Burn
BBC Radio Kent, Hempstead
Karen Covill and her dad came into Hempstead Pharmacy near Gillingham to pick up two prescriptions this morning on the dog walk.
Her mum had Covid and she relied on this pharmacy when she became very ill. She said: “Mum and dad had lots of medication and they were able to deliver and support us. “They communicate very well - why would we go anywhere else?”
Lisa Simm picked up the first call to the pharmacy at nine on the dot.
It was from a post-Covid patient who had a persistent cough.
She offers advice if she can but if the symptoms sound serious she suggests that patients call the doctor.
Dr Sohail Karim has been in the profession for 30 years.
He knows most of his patients by name and is looking forward to being able to prescribe medicine from next month when he will be able to make his own diagnosis in certain cases.
He welcomes the extra workload to help his community but wants to see the service properly funded.
Image source, Medway NHS Foundation TrustDogs are now part of the hard working NHS team.
At the Medway NHS Foundation Trust Yazzy, the golden retriever, and Blue, the Siberian husky, both work as Pets As Therapy dogs.
Eight-year-old Yazzy has been visiting patients at the Medway Maritime Hospital since 2019, while Blue, also eight, joined in September 2022.
Both help reduce anxiety and stress for patients, staff and visitors.
Image source, Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Image source, Getty ImagesWe've been hearing your thoughts on the pressures that the NHS is under this winter.
Tony Corby wrote on Facebook: "Winter comes every year so surely a plan should be in place already? The NHS is not fit for purpose as year after year it's the same old story."
Sam Rowan said: "Not paid enough. These guys deserve more money. Stop paying politicians, footballers, train drivers ridiculous money. Give to our NHS."
Speaking about ambulance crews, Martin Cork said: "They do a brilliant job, considering."
Sarah, from East Grinstead, texted BBC Radio Sussex: "The NHS is fantastic. Let's not forget the secretaries of consultants who work tirelessly behind the scenes doing the scheduling of waiting lists and appointments. They keep the cogs all turning too."
And Tony in Bexhill told BBC Radio Sussex's Mid Morning show how this week he called an ambulance at 3am. After being told the ambulance would take up to four hours, it arrived in 30 minutes, took him to hospital and now he is home being treated with antibiotics.
Josie Hannett
Investigations Reporter, BBC South East
It's been a busy day with the crew from South East Coast Ambulance Service - and the day is far from over.
Our next call is to 96-year-old Christopher Cox who is suffering breathing problems.
When we arrive we are greeted by a very charismatic patient as he quips: “I thought you’d come here to put me down!”
A quick response from paramedic Lee: “Absolutely not, there’s still plenty left in you, don’t you worry.”
Christopher seemed confused and it was suggested by Lee that he be treated at hospital for potential infection.
Lee said: “If this is an infection which we are suspecting, then that’s perfectly treatable.
"What we’re trying to do is to avoid Christopher having a lengthy stay in hospital by getting on top of these infections and getting him back on his legs.”
Mark Norman
Health Correspondent, BBC South East
Image source, Getty ImagesHere are some winter watch stats for the NHS England-wide.
At the last count, which was the week between 27 November and 3 December,
47,018 NHS staff were absent each day, 3% of those were with Covid.
The week before the figure was 46,201.
There were 234 hospital beds occupied by patients with flu. That was up 29% on the week before.And a total of 23,443 patients were occupying a hospital bed when they no longer needed one.
Jack Fiehn
BBC Radio Surrey in Guildford
Image source, Jack Fiehn/BBCJust off the A3 in Guildford and on the end of a cul-de-sac is the Woodbridge Hill Surgery, a warren of a building with corridors and small offices crammed with staff.
The doctors here look after the needs of about 15,000 patients, but they say the building is only designed for about 8,000 and are desperate for new facilities.
Sometimes staff work at home to maximise the use of clinical space as much as possible.
Like most of the primary care system, the feeling here is that it is a struggle to meet demand, which will get greater over the winter.
BBC Radio Kent reporter Jo Burn has spent the morning talking to those working and visiting Hempstead pharmacy in Kent as part of our day with the NHS.
Health Minister and Lewes MP Maria Caulfield told the BBC the government had prepared the NHS earlier than ever before for the winter.
She said: "We knew there was a new variant of Covid, not a variant of concern, but enough to bring the vaccination programme forward, both for flu and Covid for older and vulnerable groups.
"We're opening up 10,000 virtual beds in the community to try and avoid people going into hospital in the first place and get them discharged much quicker.
"We've got 5,000 extra beds in our hospitals to cope with any pressures."
Hanna Neter
BBC Radio Sussex
Image source, Hanna Neter/BBCPatricia and Doug showed their appreciation for staff at the Princes Park Health Centre in Eastbourne by bringing in Christmas presents this morning.
Patricia says it has got more difficult to make an appointment, although the ring back service they operate has improved things.
She said: “Usually if it’s urgent, we can get an appointment.”Doug agrees it is hard to get an appointment.
He said: “You ring at 8.30am, you get through and you’re 82nd on the list and you know quite well you’re not going to get an appointment.
"You ring in the next day and you’re 107th. And you think is it worth it?” He added: “There’s been a change in the NHS. I can remember not so long ago when they looked after you.
"Now you’ve got to look after yourself and manage your own health, and just get hold of a doctor if you can’t do it.”
Image source, Hanna Neter/BBC
Phil Harrison
BBC Radio Kent
Estuary View Medical Centre in Whitstable has 18,000 registered patients, which means the site is always busy.
Many more walk in to the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) which is open every day of the week.
There are many other services available than at a standard GP surgery, such as physiotherapy and X-rays, leading to speedier treatment.
“It can take up to three weeks for a hospital to accept a GP referral, whilst here it’s a matter of days." said senior radiologist Kate Harrison.
"Those coming to the UTC can get an X-ray instantly if required.
"This is a model of how a health centre should be run, with one service rolling into another. It means patients in Whitstable don’t have to travel far when they are ill.”
BBC South East Health Correspondent Mark Norman talks to Anna Cookson on The Wake Up Call on BBC Radio Kent about the expected workload for our local NHS teams.
Hanna Neter
BBC Radio Sussex
The large and modern waiting room at Princes Park Health Centre, Eastbourne, is filling up as about ten patients wait to see GPs and nurses.
There are five GPs available and about 90 appointments today.
Staff say they are experiencing high demand for appointments for cold and flu-type symptoms which is impacting other parts of their services.
Joan is a patient waiting for a blood test as part of her osteoporosis treatment.
She said she has been well looked after and feels "lucky" to be a patient at the surgery although regular appointments can be hard to get because it is so busy.
She said: “They’ve got a good system where if you phone you can get into a queue and they can ring you back.
"So that’s very useful. It’s pot luck, really, whether you get an appointment.”
Image source, Hanna Neter/BBCParamedics working for South East Coast Ambulance (Secamb) say they understand the frustration experienced by patients when ambulances are delayed.
But they say they "don't tolerate any verbal or physical abuse" from people they try to help.
"We are trying our best to get to people as quickly as possible," said Lee Carr, a paramedic with Secamb.
'We don't tolerate any verbal or physical abuse'
Mark Norman
Health Correspondent, BBC South East
Image source, PA MediaIf there are more than 7.5m people waiting for operations, how many of those are in our region?
The House of Commons library provides us with an answer.
In West Sussex the figure is 165,000.
That is more than 17% of the population.
In East Sussex it's nearly 91,000 or 15.9% of the population.
In Brighton and Hove the numbers are 49,112 or 14.9%.
In Surrey 162,252 - 14.3%.
And in Kent and Medway 242,405 - 12.1%.
Phil Harrison
BBC Radio Kent
Back in Whitstable, I’ve been hearing from Margaret Kebble whose holiday to Gambia didn’t end well.
She’s in the Urgent Treatment Centre because she thinks she broke her wrist three days ago and has come here straight off the plane at Gatwick.“I’m in a lot of pain but the NHS is fantastic and I didn’t want to see a doctor abroad. The service here couldn’t be better and hopefully I’ll get a plaster cast fitted here soon.”
“And I need a strong coffee,” adds husband Barry, “I’ve got to drive us home to Herne Bay after this!”
Jack Fiehn
BBC Radio Surrey
It's just after 9am at Haslemere Minor Injuries Unit and there is already a steady stream of people arriving.
Nicolette Barton, from Liphook in Hampshire, said she had a “small injury” to her wrist and wanted to get it checked out.
She said the alternative was a long, but “more than understandable”, wait at the A&E at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.
Jack Fiehn
BBC Radio Surrey
I've been speaking to Charlotte Morley who is the lead emergency practitioner at Haslemere's minor injuries unit, which went from being open five days a week to seven last year.
She said: "We were previously seeing around 30 patients a day. We've pretty much doubled that now.
"We see patients aged two years and over who come in with a range of minor injuries, including things like sprains, broken bones, minor skin infections allergic reactions, burns and foreign bodies in the ears, eyes and nose."
Josie Hannett
Investigations Reporter, BBC South East
A 999 call comes in from Gatwick Airport where a man is reported unconscious at the train station.
The blue lights are on and it's not long before we find the patient.
He is 35-year-old Lukasz Dobbek. He wasn’t unconscious but had a seizure after missing a flight to Dallas.
Learning he lived with epilepsy, during an ECG in the back of an ambulance medic Lee asks him: “When you have your seizures, how long does your recovery take?”
Lukasz replied: “I’m sleepy for a few hours and then it’s back to normal pretty much.”
He was advised to go to hospital, but had a flight booked later that evening.
Lukasz said: “They’ve made sure I’m alright and I’m ready to fly and gave me directions of what to do if I don’t feel quite alright. It was a really good experience as far as seizures go.”
Mark Norman
Health Correspondent, BBC South East
I've been chatting to Anna Cookson on Radio Kent this morning and have been hearing listeners' good - and bad - experiences.
GP access is always an issue.
Trying to get an appointment, trying to get one when you need it and trying to get an appointment with your family doctor are all familiar themes.
Not everyone gets what they expect these days but it's worth remembering there were more than one million GP appointments in Kent and Medway in October.