'Please seek help when you need it'

Hospitals being overwhelmed would be a huge factor in any future decisions on Covid restrictions.

The new Omicron variant is causing health bosses concern, with the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Witty, saying there will be more Covid records broken in the coming weeks.

Last winter will have been one of the most difficult the NHS has ever experienced, so how are the next few weeks and months going to be?

The latest figures show that 253 beds were being occupied by Covid patients across Merseyside and our part of Cheshire up to the 7th of December, but those numbers have been falling.

Dr Susan Gilby, Chief Executive at the Countess of Chester Hospital tells us the situation there,