The National Contingency Plan

Winter Initiative

Winter contingency planning is a core component of annual planning in the health service and is required to ensure that the system is adequately resourced with the appropriate staffing to prepare for the additional external pressures associated with the winter period.

While the system now experiences high demand on a year-round basis, there is a more intense peak
during the winter period, with a challenge in the period immediately post-Christmas and
into the New Year.

A prolonged holiday period, increased presentations of older persons, severe winter weather, seasonal influenza and the spread of norovirus and other health care associated infections are examples of such pressures that increase during this period.

Total population growth for 2018 – 2021 is projected to increase by 3% (n=146,796). During this period, adults aged 65 years and over are projected to increase by 10.1% (n=68,462) and adults aged 85 years and over are projected to increase by 13.9% (n=10,064). From 2018 – 2021 there is an annual increase of between 1.7-1.9% in adults aged 45-64 years, with adults aged 18-44 years in the same time period increasing annually from between 0.8-0.9%.

These pressures also affect staff contributing to extra pressures within healthcare facilities and the home.

Implementation of additional staffing takes consistent focus. Servisource can assist for unscheduled care, we offer support to enable sustained improvement in flow.

Our Winter Initiative goes beyond simply providing Nurses or Carers. It enables you to provide your patients with Bespoke Medical Solutions to tackle Staffing Solutions (Temporary and Permanent), Step Down Units, Waiting List Initiatives, RecruitmentHomecare Reablement Programme, Homecare Rapid Response Programme and Allied Admissions.
By providing you with the support and experience of our database of over 10,000 Healthcare professionals. We can work with you and your team to address the challenges of Winter Contingency Planning.

How Can We Help?

Servisource Healthcare can help you with this increased pressure during these times. Our concept is to facilitate and ease these pressures from temporary staff solutions to speedy discharge and homecare within the hospital and home, thus reducing the added pressure that already exists.

Our Aim

Our team is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and they are available to cater for the bespoke service required at any point in time, day or night. From our initial point of contact right through to the implementation of each package, each service is provided with a systematic, empathetic and consistent approach. We believe we provide an invaluable service to our very valued and cherished clients.

  • With a database of over 10,000 healthcare professionals to provide bespoke staffing solutions to hospitals and communities nationwide short term and long term.
  • Ensuring integrated working between acute hospitals and the community over the winter period to ensure optimisation and alignment of existing resources and pathways.
  • Ensuring robust integrated preparedness plans encompassing all agreed arrangements in respect of Planning and Escalation and Operational Management of Patient Flow
  • Ensuring availability of staff
  • Ensuring service users in the community maintain care to support them at home and a focus on reablement and home support for those discharged from acute and community settings thus reducing re – admissions
  • Multi-disciplinary approach to care