Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has unveiled the Department of Health’s 2025/26 Overarching Winter Preparedness Plan, outlining a comprehensive strategy to protect health and social care services during what is expected to be another challenging winter.
The plan, available on the Department of Health website, sets out coordinated measures being taken across the Health and Social Care (HSC) system to alleviate seasonal pressures. It reflects a whole-system approach, ensuring collaboration between Trusts, primary care, community pharmacy, and other key partners to make the best use of available resources.
Five Key Themes
This year’s plan is structured around five central themes:
- Prevention
- The Role of Pharmacy and General Practice
- Hospital Care
- Local Planning and Preparations
- Whole System Flow Improvement for the Elderly and Frail
These themes have emerged from the Department’s “Big Discussion” workshops, where leaders across the HSC examined lessons learned from previous winters and identified opportunities to improve patient and staff experiences.
Year Round Preparedness
Minister Nesbitt praised the efforts of HSC staff whose planning and preparations have been underway since spring, noting that the pressures faced by the system are continuous but become particularly acute in winter.
“While the HSC system is under 365 day pressure, it is undoubtedly magnified in the winter months,” he said. “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.”
The Minister emphasised the importance of collaboration and learning from past challenges:
“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.”
A Strong Focus on Community and Primary Care
The plan recognises the crucial role of pharmacies and GP practices in supporting the wider healthcare system.
Key community based initiatives include the ‘Living Well Campaign’ and ‘Stay Well This Winter’, both designed to help people take proactive steps to maintain their health during the colder months.
Pharmacies will continue to deliver the ‘Pharmacy First’ service, including the ‘Sore Throat Service’, which provides advice, assessment, and treatment for sore throats without the need for a GP appointment.
The Department is also expanding GP support, including 10,000 medical care plans for nursing and residential care homes and over 98,000 additional sessions to help meet winter demand. This will enhance both General Medical Services and Out of Hours care.
Tackling System Wide Pressures
A series of operational measures are included in the plan:
- Reducing ambulance handover delays from four hours to one hour through closer collaboration between Trusts and the Ambulance Service.
- Expanding vaccination programmes against influenza, COVID 19, RSV, and shingles, with streamlined appointments allowing combined COVID 19 booster and flu vaccinations in a single visit.
- Improving paediatric care, including additional twilight hours for the NISTAR (Northern Ireland Specialist Transport and Retrieval) service to ensure equitable neonatal and paediatric access.
- Reducing Emergency Department pressures by improving mental health and learning disability pathways.
- Supporting social care to enable timely discharges and improve system flow, particularly for frail and elderly patients.
- Avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions for end of life care, ensuring patients can remain at home when that is their preference.
Vaccination: A Vital Defence
A major component of the plan is the extensive vaccination programme aimed at reducing the impact of winter infections such as influenza, RSV, and COVID 19. The Department is encouraging all eligible individuals to get vaccinated to protect themselves and reduce system pressures.
A Call for Collective Responsibility
Minister Nesbitt acknowledged the difficult financial and operational circumstances facing the HSC and appealed to the public to play their part.
“We must be clear that while the steps taken will go some way to mitigating the anticipated pressures, they cannot be eradicated altogether,” he said. “Our Health and Social Care system is already under significant pressure before winter sets in.”
He urged people to support the health service by staying up to date with vaccinations, attending scheduled appointments, cooperating with hospital discharge processes, and treating staff with patience and respect.
“We must all work together to protect our health service,” he added. “Please be patient and respectful with our staff as they deal with increased demand and strive to treat the sickest quickest.”