A health trust has warned that it may become “difficult to provide all services” while managing an expected increase in demand for “unscheduled or critical care” this winter, as staff say they are “anxious” about the coming months.
The warning was issued by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust at the recent launch of its 2025/26 winter plan.
Outlining the plan to board members at Antrim Hospital, trust director of operations Gillian Traub acknowledged that staff are “very anxious” about the winter months and that planning began in August in anticipation of an increase in pressure on hospital and community services.
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Key areas of focus were identified as ambulance handover times and the importance of discharging patients who are capable of being sent home.
Ms Traub said that the longer ambulances are waiting at hospital doors “they are not on the road for the next patient”.
“We are managing a very challenging situation with very unwell patients both inside and outside in ambulances,” she said.
Among the trust’s plans to make improvements is increasing senior nurses within the emergency departments at Antrim and Causeway hospitals, alongside “anticipatory care planning” for care home residents.
Ms Straub stressed that hospital emergency departments were “there for anybody who needs it” but added that there is a “range of other services available” including the minor injuries units, GPs and pharmacies.
Elsewhere, she said the trust will benefit from 35 home care beds in the independent sector which have been “block-booked” in order to tackle the issue of delayed discharges.
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The trust intends to “optimise the use of intermediate care beds” to support discharged patients, noting that they will only be sent home “as soon as it is deemed appropriate by our clinical teams”.
However, Ms Traub added that the trust needs “support, flexibility and understanding” on the issue.
She said that patients may not be offered their first preference for onward care, which may be “challenging” for families and staff.
Other alternatives noted in the winter plan include a ‘Hospital at Home’ service, which aims to provide in-home care to older patients for some conditions which would normally require hospital admission.
Patients who could benefit from the service will be identified by their GPs.
