NHS England setting up ‘war rooms’ to prepare for ‘toughest winter on record’

Published

3 years ago

October 18, 2022

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The NHS is setting up data-driven “war rooms” as it prepares for what could be England’s “toughest winter on record”, new plans have revealed.

Under the government’s winter preparation plan, which aims to help the NHS cope during the colder months, the 24/7 “care traffic control centres” are expected to be created in every local area.

The hubs, led by teams of clinicians and experts, will manage demand and capacity across England by constantly tracking the number of beds available and people attending hospital.

It is hoped the centres will make it easier and quicker for decisions, such as if hospitals need extra assistance or if ambulances need to be diverted, to be made.

It will mark the first time a system has been used to take stock of all activity and performance within the NHS.

Rapid response teams to help people who have fallen at home are also being set up across the country to prevent unnecessary hospital trips.

NHS England believes this expansion could see about 55,000 ambulance trips freed up to treat other patients each year.

Under the plans, care providers will also be given more support to deal with falls, with around two in five hospital admissions from care homes currently related to patients falling over.

On top of that, NHS chiefs have vowed to roll out around-the-clock access to professional mental health advice within ambulance services to help give more people access to the correct community support.

‘Be prepared for things to get even tougher’

In a letter to all NHS foundation trusts, signed by the health service’s chief executive Amanda Pritchard, chief financial officer Julian Kelly and chief operating officer David Sloman, staff have been told “the coming weeks and months will be difficult”.

“We continue to be in a Level 3 incident, and services are under continued, significant pressure, with challenges including timely discharge of patients impacting on patient flow within hospitals, alongside ongoing pressures in mental health services,” it stated.

“We therefore all need to be prepared for things to get even tougher over the coming weeks and months.

“We will support you in doing your best under these very difficult circumstances, including as you work with and support clinical leaders to ensure risk is managed appropriately across local systems.”

Respiratory infections expected to take up half of all NHS beds

It comes as the NHS is expecting to see a “very challenging winter”, with respiratory infections, including COVID, flu and pneumonia, predicted to be one of the most significant pressures.

Recent modelling has suggested that such health issues could occupy up to half of all NHS beds throughout the already busy season.

Grandmother had more than 200 emergency call outs in a year – will the new NHS plan help?

The government’s winter preparation plan is designed to take treatment and care to patients in the community as much as possible to ease pressure on hospital attendances and capacity.

So-called “rapid response teams” will target people who have had a fall either at home or in a care home but are not seriously hurt and do not need to be admitted to hospital for treatment.

I spent a day last week with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service. Our third emergency call was to visit Elizabeth 78-year-old grandmother, who lived on her own and who had fallen from her bed.

The paramedics had been called by Elizabeth’s carer. When we got there, they undertook a thorough assessment and thankfully Elizabeth had not suffered any broken bones or bruising.

We spent over an hour with Elizabeth, and rightfully so. She was a Category 2 emergency and needed to be seen by a trained paramedic in case she had seriously hurt herself.

Elizabeth had three ambulances visit her the day before and more than 200 emergency call-outs in the previous year.

If she had adequate care or somebody else to respond to her fall, then all those ambulance trips would not have been necessary.

There will also be a “new 24/7 system control centre created in every local area, which will manage demand and capacity across the entire country”.

This needs more detail. One trust chief executive I spoke to said this (on the face of it, at least) sounded “a bit like spin”.

If the idea is to manage patient flows to hospitals, to see where bottlenecks are building, and then diverting resources to hospitals and trusts in need of urgent help, it should already, to some extent, be happening.

It might be the first time ambulance data is available nationally and monitored 24/7 to react to live situations, but his fear was patients being transported long distances.

What is apparent is that there are genuine fears about what this winter will bring. The government says it “is preparing earlier and more extensively than ever before”.

New “respiratory hubs” will be built locally to look after patients with infections such as acute bronchitis and pneumonia.

There is expected to be a surge in winter respiratory infection, including flu and COVID. Again, the same day access to specialist care is to stop patients being admitted to hospital where possible.

Therefore, the NHS is preparing earlier and more extensively than usual, with the plans also aiming to create extra bed capacity in hospitals and in the community, and a drive to increase the number of 111 and 999 call handlers.

“This winter could be the toughest on record for the NHS, which is exactly why services are working together early to make sure patients get the care they need, where they need it most,” said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

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Ms Pritchard added: “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.”

The autumn COVID booster programme will continue to be rolled out throughout winter, with more than eight million people already receiving their top-up jab.

People aged 50 or over and those considered at high risk of catching COVID are among those currently able to get the extra dose.

UK

Southend Airport remains closed after ‘fireball’ plane crash

Published

3 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Southend Airport remains closed after 'fireball' plane crash

Southend Airport has been closed until further notice after a small plane crashed – as video footage emerged showing the aftermath of a huge fireball.

Images posted online showed large flames and a cloud of black smoke following the incident on Sunday afternoon.

Essex Police said it responded to “reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane” shortly before 4pm.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

Southend Airport said it would be “closed until further notice” due to the “serious incident”.

“We ask that any passengers due to travel (on Monday) via London Southend Airport contact their airline for information and advice,” it added.

Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at the airport and its thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected”.

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

Pilots ‘waved’ to families watching planes

One man, who was at the airport with his wife and children, told Sky News the plane crashed within seconds of taking off.

John Johnson said the pilots “waved” at his family as they taxied the aircraft.

“We all waved [back] at them,” he continued. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around.

“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”

The aircraft then “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”

‘Airport was in lockdown’

Wren Stranix, 16, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, was in another aircraft waiting to take off for Newquay, Cornwall, with her family and boyfriend when the plane came down.

They watched from their aircraft as the emergency services arrived and were not able to leave their seats.

“The flight attendant didn’t know what was going on,” she told Sky News. “They said the plane had exploded and they didn’t know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown.”

They were eventually allowed back in the terminal to wait before all flights were cancelled.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

After the incident, EasyJet – one of just a few airlines that uses the airport – said all of its remaining flights to and from Southend had been “diverted to alternative airports or are no longer able to operate”.

The airline said it has contacted customers who were due to travel on Sunday. Anyone due to fly on Monday should check online for up-to-date information, it added.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

The East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles and an air ambulance had been sent to the incident.

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, asked people to keep away from the area and “allow the emergency services to do their work” in a post on social media.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates”.

Essex Police have set up a dedicated public portal and phone line where people can contact them about the crash at https://esxpol.uk/LIbaz and on 0800 0961011.

Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.”

He added: “We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”

UK

Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

Published

4 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Gregg Wallace: Half the allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact

An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.

MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.

The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.

The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.

There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.

While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.

One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.

Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.

Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.

The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.

While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.

While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.

Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.

UK

Palace confirms dates of Trump’s state visit – as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

Published

12 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Palace confirms dates of Trump's state visit - as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.

Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.

This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.

He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.

On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.

But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.

In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.

After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.

In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.

This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.

Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.