Winter Plan Review and Evaluation 25-26 - FINAL - ESCC HOSC Update
What it recommends
- “4.1 The evaluation identified a number of key learning themes for future winter planning. These themes reflect both the areas where the system demonstrated effective planning and coordination, and the areas where further improvement is needed to strengthen resilience, patient flow and safety in future winters. 4.2 Ambulance handover and emergency department flow: The review shows that improvements in ambulance handov”
What the meeting decided
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In plain English
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The 78% four-hour A&E standard was not met over winter, with 76.7% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, which was better than planned. p5
Across Sussex, between 22% and 27% of beds during winter were occupied by patients more than 21 days beyond their discharge-ready date. p8
Sussex met all nationally set targets for the Autumn/Winter Covid-19 vaccination programme, delivering 167,286 vaccinations across all eligible cohorts, including 58,985 in East Sussex. p11
Show the 3 passages this is based on
- p5FIGURE 1 - FOUR PILLARS 3.1 Pillar 1: Acute and in hospital care 3.1.1 Ambulance handover times and Category 2 response Aim: Meet the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover time standard. Overall summary Over winter handover performance improved compared with 2024/25 and escalation arrangements were active, although the 45-minute standard was not delivered consistently or sustained across winter and was particularly challenging at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Action put in place: Ambulance handover performance was monitored through the Winter Plan reporting arrangements with appropriate escalations and active risk management in place to ensure visibility of pressure at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and to support operational focus on releasing ambulances back into the community. Performance improved compared to 2024/25 and briefly fell below the 5% breach threshold in mid-November and mid-December. 3.1.2 A&E 4-hour performance Aim: Ensure a minimum of 78% of patients who attend A&E are admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours. Overall summary The 78% all-age A&E 4-hour standard was not met (achieving 76.7% which was 1.1% better than planned) and performance showed improvement in mid-November and mid-December. Ongoing pressures from high demand, bed capacity constraints, discharge delays and workforce challenges continued to impact emergency department flow. However, for children specifically, performance remained largely aligned with 2024/25 levels and stayed consistently above the 78% target for most of the season Action put in place: A&E 4-hour performance was subject to enhanced Winter Plan oversight, and escalation routes were initiated to maintain senior focus on emergency department flow, bed capacity, discharge and system-wide operational pressures.
- p83.1.5 Discharge pathways, Discharge Ready Date [DRD] delays, No Criteria to Reside [NCTR] performance Aim: Reduce delays in patients waiting to be discharged, starting with those waiting over 21 days after their discharge-ready date. Overall summary Discharge was actively managed throughout winter, and system-wide Multi-Agency Discharge Events (MADE) supported improvements in flow, with reductions seen in mid to late December. However, overall performance remained below the target trajectory, reflecting continued challenges linked to limited onward community and adult social care capacity, process delays, and data and digital flow issues. Across Sussex, the proportion of beds occupied by patients more than 21 days beyond their discharge-ready date ranged from 22% to 27% during the winter period. While this remained a significant pressure, it represented an improvement on the previous year as the figure below indicates.
- p113.2 Pillar 2: Primary and community care 3.2.1 Aim: Improve vaccination rates to prevent the exacerbation of illness and hospitalisation. Overall summary Sussex achieved all nationally set targets for the Autumn/Winter Covid-19 vaccination programme, delivering 167,286 vaccinations across all eligible cohorts: 58,985 in East Sussex, 91,483 in West Sussex and 16,818 in Brighton & Hove. Staff flu vaccination plans were also implemented across all trusts, with four out of five meeting the 5% improvement target and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust reaching 42.5% against a target of 44.7%. Action put in place: The Autumn/Winter Covid-19 vaccination programme ran from 1 October 2025 to 31 January 2026. Outreach clinics and local communications and engagement projects were funded through NHS England’s Access and Inequalities programme, with activity targeted in areas of deprivation and low uptake, including coastal areas of East Sussex including Hastings, as well as West Sussex including Crawley and Brighton & Hove. Each hospital also had a staff flu vaccination plan designed to improve uptake by 5% compared with the previous year.
Places and organisations it names
Other papers for this meeting
- Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee agenda
- Appendix 1, Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee
- HOSC Work Programme July 2026
- HOSC future work programme
- Minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2026
- NHS Surrey and Sussex update
- NHS Sussex Winter Plan 2025/26 - Review and Evaluation (to follow)
- Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee minutes (draft)