The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 17 June 2026 to discuss urgent and emergency care and patient flow, and to review its work programme. Representatives from various health organisations have been invited to provide an update on the winter period and ongoing operational pressures.

Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) and Patient Flow

The committee is set to receive an update on the work undertaken across the health and care system concerning Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) and Patient Flow, covering the period from October 2025 to March 2026. This discussion will involve representatives from NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (HWICB), Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT), Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT), West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS), and Worcestershire County Council.

The report pack indicates that the winter of 2025/26 presented significant operational challenges, including high bed occupancy levels and the use of temporary escalation spaces at Worcestershire Royal Hospital. Despite these pressures, key UEC performance measures are reported to be improving and becoming more sustainable. A detailed Winter Plan was agreed by health and social care partners in October 2025, with priorities including reducing ambulance handover delays, improving Emergency Department waiting times and Emergency Access Standard (EAS) performance, and reducing corridor care. The plan also focused on improving the system's response to frail and end-of-life patients, and optimising acute and community bed capacity.

The report highlights a 5% increase in overall front-door ED demand during winter 2025/26 compared to the previous year, with January 2026 being particularly challenging. Ambulance activity also increased by 5%, largely due to the cessation of intelligent conveyancing. To mitigate demand, the Worcestershire System invested in a Single Point of Access (SPoA) service, which is reported to be redirecting over 250 patients monthly to primary care. There was also a 5% increase in patients utilising the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) pathway.

Performance in the Emergency Access Standard (EAS) is noted to be at its highest levels for over four years, moving from being the most challenged in the Midlands region to the fourth best by April 2026. Significant focus has been placed on reducing ambulance handover delays, with schemes such as the SPoA, Pit Stop, and Urgent Community Response contributing to a 12% reduction in delays over the winter period. This builds on a 20% reduction from the previous winter.

Work to improve hospital flow is ongoing through an urgent and emergency care reset programme, with various workstreams addressing attendance/admission prevention, reducing length of stay, and facilitating early discharge. Initiatives include the development of Acute Medical Assessment units, a pilot of Acute Surgical Assessment areas, and an increase in Hospital at Home capacity.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT) has played a central role in supporting patients at home. An improvement plan for Community Hospitals saw average length of stay reduce from 29 days in September 2025 to 24 days by March 2026. Targeted winter schemes, including a £120,000 investment in Pathway 1 services, significantly reduced waits for double-handed care. The Hospital at Home service expanded from 8 to 30 patients by April 2026, supporting around 80 people monthly. The Community SPoA received over 1,000 referrals per month, and the Urgent Community Response (UCR) service achieved a 90% two-hour response rate against a 70% target.

The report also references the government's Neighbourhood Health Framework, published in February 2026, which aims to put the person at the centre of local service organisation and delivery. This framework focuses on prevention, proactive care, strengthening primary and community services, and better collaboration with specialists, public health, and social care.

The committee is asked to consider and comment on this update and determine if further scrutiny is required.

Work Programme

The committee will also review its work programme for 2026. This is part of the Council's rolling Annual Scrutiny Work Programme, which was discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board (OSPB) on 16 October 2025 and agreed by Council on 6 November 2025. The committee will consider the existing programme and agree any amendments, while retaining flexibility to address urgent issues.

The work programme outlines several future scrutiny items, including End of Life Care, Frailty and the implementation of its new strategy, and updates on Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Redesign and Acute Inpatient Improvement. Planning for Winter, Integrated Care Board updates, and Neighbourhood Health and its impact on long-term conditions are also listed as potential future items. The committee will also consider items such as Routine Immunisation, Robotic Strategy, and Leukemia and lymphoma rates in Worcestershire.