NHS leaders in the West Midlands are preparing for the annual surge in demand as winter approaches, with hospital bed shortages posing a significant challenge. Officials from the NHS Birmingham and Solihull and Black Country Joint Integrated Care Board (ICB) Cluster Board have been informed that, without specific actions, there could be a shortfall of more than 400 acute hospital beds during the 2026/27 winter season.
To address this, the 2026/27 Winter Plan is being finalised with the goal of alleviating pressure on healthcare services across the region. Key elements of the plan include a strong emphasis on prevention and identifying alternatives to hospital treatment.
Vaccination efforts will be intensified, supported by an additional £1 million allocated to enhance the programme throughout the winter months. Furthermore, the plan aims to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, particularly in emergency departments, by utilising services such as acute respiratory infection hubs to provide increased capacity.
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Other alternatives promoted within the plan include encouraging the use of NHS 111, urgent treatment centres, frailty services, hot clinics, and virtual wards to manage patient care effectively outside hospital settings.
The report to the board also highlights ongoing efforts to tackle challenges related to ambulance handover times and high levels of staff sickness, which impact service delivery.
According to the report: “The local Winter Plan brings together the coordinated response of acute, community, mental health, ambulance, NHS 111, primary care, pharmacy, local authority, and social care partners across Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull. It covers various aspects including prevention and vaccination, admission avoidance, demand and capacity management, acute and community patient flow, discharge processes, surge capacity, workforce resilience, infection prevention, communications, severe weather preparations, and System Co-ordination Centre arrangements.”
The plan is informed by extensive demand and capacity modelling, incorporating data from the ICB and individual care providers. This modelling indicates a potential deficit of 412 general and acute beds at peak winter demand without targeted interventions.
Currently, the Winter Plan outlines a series of mitigations and interventions that are expected to reduce the bed shortage by 335 beds, leaving a remaining gap of 77 beds that will require further strategies to address.
The completed Winter Plan is due for submission to NHS England by 30 September.