NHS England to set up ‘war rooms’ for ‘tough winter ahead’

The NHS is setting up “war rooms” as it prepares for one of the toughest winters in its history, officials have announced.

In a letter to staff, health leaders in England set out “winter resilience plans”, which include new system control centres that are expected to be created in every local area.

These centres will be expected to manage demand and capacity across the entire country by constantly tracking beds and attendances.

They will be operated by clinicians and experts who can make quick decisions about emerging challenges in the health service, NHS England said.

The data-driven centres will be able to spot when hospitals are near capacity and could benefit from mutual aid. Where A&Es are especially busy, ambulances will be diverted to nearby hospitals with more space.

Meanwhile, NHS England announced plans to expand falls response services so people are treated in their homes, avoiding unnecessary trips to hospital where possible.

NHS England’s chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: “Winter comes hot on the heels of an extremely busy summer – and with the combined impact of flu, Covid and record NHS staff vacancies – in many ways, we are facing more than the threat of a ‘twindemic’ this year.

“So it is right that we prepare as much as possible – the NHS is going further than it ever has before in anticipation of a busy winter, and today we have set out further plans to step up these preparations – building on our existing plans to boost capacity set out in August this year."

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Source: The Guardian, 19 October 2022