The health service could be tested over the next week as the UK is frozen by a big chill.
The Met Office has issued a Level 3 Cold Weather Alert, the first of the winter, and warned that vulnerable people could be at risk.
Temperatures could drop as low as minus ten degrees C in the UK, thanks to icy winds sweeping down from Scandinavia.
A spokesperson for the Met Office, said: "This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services."
Those most at risk are the elderly and ill, with the weather alerts being tied in to the Government's Cold Weather Plan and then relayed to Age UK and other bodies.
Health bosses have warned that up to 2,000 people each week could be killed because of plunging temperatures, which will see the country being colder than the South Pole in some places.
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