“Work together to help protect vital services”: Nesbitt

Date revealed:
16 October 2025

The plan Overarching Winter Preparedness Plan 2025/26 | Department of Health offers course and identifies measures that the Department of Health, Trusts and different key companions are taking to alleviate winter pressures within the Health and Social Care (HSC) system, taking an entire techniques strategy and making certain the very best use of assets.

The plan focuses on 5 key themes: prevention, the function of pharmacy and General Practice, hospital care, native planning and preparations and entire system circulate enchancment for the aged and frail rising from our “Big Discussion” workshops.

Delivery of actions to alleviate pressures, that are all 12 months spherical however magnified over the winter interval, depends on our devoted employees throughout the HSC whose work and preparations have been ongoing since Spring. Trusts have a vital function to play and have developed native winter plans which can ship each regional priorities and deal with particular native challenges, reflecting the outworkings of ongoing multi-disciplinary considering and consideration.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt mentioned: 

“While the HSC system is under 365 day pressure, it is undoubtedly magnified in the winter months. To help mitigate this, and deliver the best possible care to those who need it, we again are asking the HSC system and the public to work together to help protect vital services.

“Learning from the challenges last winter, I brought key HSC leaders together at a series of workshops, the ‘Big Discussion’, to plan for this winter, allowing for a whole systems approach to improve patient and staff experiences. This provided us with a single vision based on the provision of high quality, safe care.”

The workshops included all points of the HSC system working collectively to enhance affected person circulate by higher understanding the drivers for elevated demand on Health and Social Care. The workshops aimed to cut back reliance on hospital care, assist the supply of person-centred care, and determine and assist frailty in older folks to keep away from hospital admissions.

This 12 months’s plan additionally particulars the in depth vaccination programme, which goals to minimise the affect from winter infections reminiscent of influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and COVID-19.

The Overarching Winter Preparedness Plan features a collection of measures throughout major, secondary and social care. These embrace:

• Tackling ambulance handover delays via a brand new strategy to collaborative working between Trusts and the Ambulance Service, to cut back most handover delays from 4 hours to 2 hours from September to December, with additional reductions to attain a 15 minute customary.
• Vaccination programmes towards ailments reminiscent of influenza, COVID-19, RSV, and shingles.  These are essential to assist defend our inhabitants and cut back strain throughout the system. The Department has taken steps to permit for the COVID-19 booster and influenza vaccination to be largely administered collectively in a single go to, making it so simple as potential.
• Community Pharmacy initiatives, such because the ‘Living Well Campaign’ and ‘Stay Well This Winter’, which encourage and assist folks to take actions to remain nicely over winter. The ‘Pharmacy First’ service will probably be offered throughout Community Pharmacies, together with the ‘Sore Throat Service’, which gives recommendation, medical evaluation and therapy for sore throats, with out having to attend for a GP appointment.
• Additional help for General Practitioner (GP) practices, offering 10,000 medical care plans for sufferers in nursing and residential care houses and over 98,000 extra classes to assist handle winter pressures. This will probably be delivered by offering assist to extend capability to fulfill demand throughout General Medical Services (GMS) and Out of Hours; and extra assist to ship proactive assist to these in nursing and residential houses.
• Specific paediatric measures, which intention to make clear demand and capability in an entire system strategy by way of communication each day. The measures will even see sufferers repatriated from Belfast to different areas, and safe extra twilight hours into NISTAR (Northern Ireland Specialist Transport and Retrieval) to make sure honest and equitable entry for neonatal paediatric sufferers.
• Improving psychological well being and studying incapacity mattress pressures, decreasing demand on Emergency Departments and making certain the appropriate care in the appropriate place
• Supporting social care supply in the neighborhood and enhance system circulate from hospital;
• Improving the entire system strategy to managing and assembly the care wants of the aged and people dwelling with frailty;
• Avoiding ED attendance and admission for end-of-life look after these whose desire is to be at dwelling.

Minister Nesbitt added: 

“We must be clear that while the steps taken will go some way to mitigating the anticipated pressures, they cannot be eradicated altogether.  Our Health and Social Care system is already under significant pressure before winter sets in, not least because of the very challenging financial situation. In order to successfully navigate the upcoming winter period, it remains vitally important that we all play our part, to make sure that HSC services are ready and available for those who need them most.  

“We must all work together to protect our health service.  You can do this by getting vaccinated if eligible, taking steps to stay well and co-operating with hospital discharge processes if you or a family member are well enough to leave hospital.

“I would also encourage service users to attend scheduled appointments or provide timely notice when this is no longer possible, to allow for appointments to be reallocated.

“Please be patient and respectful with our staff as they deal with the increased demand and strive to treat the sickest quickest.”