Winter 2025/26 will be a challenging time for all of us across the NHS. Our teams are working hard to deliver safe, effective, and timely care — but we need your support to help keep our services running smoothly.
There are two key ways you can make a big difference this winter:
Help your loved ones return home as soon as they are well enough to leave hospital.
Only use A&E for serious or life-threatening emergencies.
By choosing the right service for your needs, you can help ensure that care is available for everyone who needs it most. We’re focusing on prevention and early discharge so that we can continue to offer the best possible care to every patient this winter. Thank you for playing your part in helping us care for our communities.
Choose the right service
Choosing the right service for your health needs is vital in receiving effective and quick care this winter.
Visiting an Emergency Department should only be for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies. If your needs are not urgent you are likely to face a long wait as we see patients based on clinical need, to save yourself a long wait please choose one of the other options which better suits your needs.
If you need help with your symptoms which are not life threatening and aren't sure where best to get treatment, answer some simple questions using 111 Online and you'll be directed to a service which can you find the right care more quickly.
It also helps keep our Emergency Department free for people who need it the most.
Home is where the healing happens
Acute hospitals are very busy, unfamiliar environments, which can cause confusion and disorientation. This can mean that patients often get less rest because, on many wards, our teams are in and out all through the night, caring for the very unwell. Our services are designed to treat the acute phase of illness or injury, rather than recovery and recuperation.
It's important to remember that most patients will continue to recover at home once they leave an acute hospital. This is medically safe, appropriate and necessary to improve long-term health and wellbeing outcomes for patients. In fact, many patients will need to leave hospital to be able to recover fully.
Staying in hospital for longer than necessary, has a negative impact on how well patients recover and can cause serious harm, impacting on a person’s health and wellbeing.
Up to 60% of older patients experience functional decline after hospitalisation
If you are over 80, 10 days of bed rest equals 10 years of muscle aging
Hospital inactivity = accelerated bone loss, malnutrition, delirium, sensory deprivation, and incontinence
Vulnerable adults can lose as much as 5% muscle strength per day to hospital acquired deconditioning
Ensuring that patients are given the chance to continue their lives at home is vital for their long-term wellbeing outcomes. We want to empower patients and their families with the confidence to continue their recovery in a familiar environment.
Sometimes, patients’ families can help us to get them home more quickly, by providing a little assistance to allow this to happen. You won’t be on your own because there’s a wide range of support available to you.
Acute hospitals are very busy, unfamiliar environments, which can cause confusion and disorientation. Our services are designed to treat the acute phase of illness or injury, not for recovery and recuperation.
Physical strength
If you stay in bed for long periods, you lose mobility, fitness and muscle strength, which makes it harder for you to regain your independence. Getting up, dressed and moving helps maintain muscle strength and your ability to do things for yourself.
When you’re at home, just doing ordinary day-to-day activities helps to maintain muscle strength, even things like getting up to make a cup of tea. In contrast, when you’re in an unfamiliar environment like a clinical ward, you may be more likely to fall because you don’t have those familiar things around you to steady you if you lose your balance for a moment.
Rest
Good sleep is essential for a long and healthy life but it’s even more important when you're recovering from an injury or illness. Hospitals are busy places with lights, talking and noises from equipment, which can cause sleep deprivation. There’s no bed like your own bed when it comes to getting a good night’s rest.
Mental wellbeing
Being in familiar surroundings with support from your loved ones is one of the best things for mental wellbeing. Hospitals are unfamiliar and can be very confusing which increases your risk of developing delirium (sudden confusion). When you are in hospital for a longer period, you may also lose confidence in your own ability to manage your day-to-day needs. With the right support, many people can return to living their life the way that they want to.
Infection
When you're unwell you're often less resistant to infections. We do everything we can to prevent you from developing an infection but the risk is usually lower at home where there are fewer unwell people under one roof.
Before you leave hospital
Do you know where you are going (to home, to interim care, to a community hospital)
Do you have your own transport?
Do you have your medication and do you understand when to take it?
Do you have the equipment you need to go home?
At the home
Is the heating on?
Are the lights on?
Is there basic food in the fridge?
Concerns
If you are unwell and need medical help, please call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk
If you are not unwell, but you feel you are struggling to cope at home, please contact the Adult Social Care Helpdesk or in an emergency out of hours, call 01926 886922.
If you are unsure about your medication, please call 111 and ask for the Pharmacy Helpline.
Staying warm is important for your health, especially if you’re older or have a long-term condition.
Try to heat your home to at least 18°C (65°F).
Wear several layers of clothing instead of one thick layer.
Have regular hot drinks and meals.
Keep active indoors – even gentle movement can help you stay warm and well.
If you’re struggling to heat your home, you might be able to get help through schemes like the Warm Home Discount or local council support. Click here for more information
Mental Health Support
Shorter days, colder weather, and being indoors more can affect how we feel. You can help look after your mental health by:
Stay connected with friends and family.
Try to get outside during daylight hours.
Be physically active – it helps your mood as well as your health.
Warwickshire County Council's Adult Social Care Service - If you are not unwell, but you feel you are struggling to cope at home, please contact the service or in an emergency out of hours, call 01926 886922.
