This year we will be using our Help Us Help You campaign to once again help with easing pressure on hospital A&E departments and demand for inpatient beds this winter.
We will continue to push key messages that highlight the different services available and direct people to our dedicated Help Us Help You page, which hosts a wide range of resources. This includes animations on loneliness, urgent mental health services and accessing our urgent treatment and walk-in centres.
We also have a number of mental health self help guides that cover issues such as alcohol awareness, domestic abuse, anxiety and sleeping problems. In addition to information on how to navigate the cost of living crisis.
Please familiarise yourself with our Winter Resilience Plan 2025/26 below, which has been designed to address the immediate challenges, against a backdrop of potential surges in demand.
The Winter Resilience Plan 2025/26 is designed to address the immediate resilience challenges of winter against the backdrop of potential moderate and extreme surges in demand and the significant fragility of the care home market.
It has a clear focus on Avoiding Unnecessary Patient Attendances, Admissions and Maintaining System Flow whilst recognising our vision to provide whole person care that enables people with physical health and mental health conditions, learning disabilities and addictions to live longer, healthier lives.
The key priorities for 2025/26 have been identified and categorised into the following themes:
- Agility and Responsiveness
- Avoiding Unnecessary Patient Attendances and Admissions
- Reducing Length of Stay and Improved Coordination of Care
- Improving Flow and Discharge
- Prevention and Protection and Staff Wellbeing
To address the anticipated challenges we will face this winter, we will focus on five main workstreams:
- Front door A&E including streaming - WICs/UTCs
- 2hr Urgent Care Response
- Virtual Ward/Hospital@Home increases
- Integrated Discharge including Transfer of Care Hub and Discharge to Assess
- Mental health including work to reduce number of patients who are clinically ready for discharge, Transfer of Care Principles and 7 days a week crisis response.
Whilst the focus this year is to ensure we respond to Base, Moderate and Extreme surges in demand, we expect that through the implementation of the 2025/26 Winter Resilience Plan we will increase the overall number of potential A&E attendances avoided and potential admissions to hospital prevented.
Winter plan evaluation
Mersey Care developed a robust and comprehensive winter/resilience plan to help keep our service users and patients well and alleviate pressure on the wider system. Despite facing challenging periods, the plan ensured minimal disruption and overall, it was an incredibly positive outcome under difficult conditions.
By the end of March 2025, data indicated an increase in patient flow through key services, such as Urgent Community Response, Longmoor House and Telehealth. Additionally, there were significant improvements in performance, including improved response and treatment times within the community and a reduction to impatient length of stay.
Throughout the busy winter period, mental health care services continued to support patients and service users, including those in crisis, through urgent care services available seven days a week. This approach further supported patient flow and helped to reduce pressure on emergency services.
Some key highlights for community services include:
- 131,270 face to face attendances across our walk-in and urgent treatment centres, with 97% of patients being seen and treated in four hours.
- 4,705 referrals into 2-hour Urgent Community Response, which is up 40% on last winter!
- 3,251 Telehealth home installations took place for patients requiring virtual wards and treatment for COVID, acute monitoring and long-term condition monitoring.
Some key highlights for mental health services include:
- 61,780 calls to the crisis line to support those in need.
- 768 potential admissions avoided through additional seven day working within mental health teams.
- Both Core 24 and mental health triage cars supported those in crisis.
Once again, this year’s winter plan was also supported by a successful communications and marketing campaign.
Cold weather can make some health problems worse and even lead to serious complications. This is why staff are thinking about what they can do to ensure patients and service users are able to keep warm this year.
Did you know that the Institute of Health Inequality forecasts that there are likely to be 13,545 additional deaths in England alone this winter, due to people living in cold homes?
What can I do?
There are five things that you can do to help:
1. Look out for patients living in cold homes below 18ºC: In appointments, on home visits and when discharging people from inpatient stays consider: is this person returning to a cold home? Do they have the means to heat their home?
2. Think about people who might be particularly vulnerable: including those with heart or lung conditions, the elderly, those living in fuel poverty or those who have problems communicating their needs to others.
3. Offer immediate advice: about how they can keep warm by: -
- Wearing layers, including thermal vests, or items made of wool or cotton
- Having regular hot drinks and trying to eat at least one hot meal a day
- Keeping moving
- Heating one room at a time and spending most time in there
- Closing curtains at dusk and keeping doors closed between rooms
- Blocking draughty areas such as window frames, keyholes and under doors
- Closing bedroom windows at night, switching from summer to winter duvets and using hot water bottles or electric blankets to keep warm in bed
- Finding out where their local ‘warm space’ is: https://warmspaces.org/
- If they are over 65, not very mobile or have a health condition try to support them to access the means to heat their home to over 18ºC
- Check whether they have received the Winter Fuel Payment or are entitled to a Cold Weather Payment from their local council (see details below)
4. Signpost to organisations
- Winter fuel payments: www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment 0800 731 0160
- Cold weather payments: www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment
- Energy saving advice: Energy saving advice - Help for Households
- National Save Energy Advice Line: 0800 043 0151
5. Read more: about keeping warm and well in Winter
- British Heart Foundation’s advice for cost effective ways to keep the heat in.
- St Helens Winter Well Strategy:
- Warm_Home_and_Winter_Wellbeing_Guide.pdf (gosshosted.com)
Local resources:
St Helens Council's website and Warm Spaces
Emergency power cuts are unlikely this winter, however if they do occur, it’s expected that loss of power could be for up to three hours, and this may happen more than once depending on the situation. For further information see the leaflets below:
The NHS App gives you a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services. Download the NHS App on your smartphone or tablet via the Google play or App store. You can also access the same services in a web browser by logging in through the NHS website.
You must be aged 13 or over to use the NHS App. You also need to be registered with a GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man. Find out more about who can use the NHS App.
Depending on your GP surgery or hospital, you may be able to use the NHS App to:
- Message your GP surgery or a health professional online
- Contact your GP surgery using an online form and get a reply
- Access health services on behalf of someone you care for
- View and manage your hospital and other healthcare appointments
- View useful links your doctor or health professional has shared with you
- View and manage care plans
- Estimate the waiting time for some hospital treatments
For more information including how to download the NHS App, visit the NHS website.
The Adverse Weather and Health Plan
The Adverse Weather and Health Plan has been developed in conjunction with the Met Office, NHS, Voluntary Sector, Fire Services and Local Authorities and aims to protect individuals and communities from the health effects of adverse weather and to build community resilience.
Useful websites