Welsh Government unveils winter plan for NHS, care, and homes
The Welsh Government has unveiled its comprehensive winter plan for 2025–26, with extra support for the NHS, social care and households as the colder months approach.
The measures, announced on Tuesday 7 October, are designed to help health and care services manage seasonal pressures while ensuring families stay warm and well through the winter.
For the first time, the NHS in Wales has centrally purchased flu vaccines to boost supply and improve vaccination rates. The move comes amid predictions of a significant rise in flu cases this winter.
The Welsh Government said 99% of community pharmacies can now test and treat sore throats for free, helping to reduce demand on GP surgeries and freeing up appointments for those who need them most.
To ease pressures on hospitals, ministers have announced a £30 million investment to expand care-at-home services, enabling more people to leave hospital sooner and receive support safely at home. An additional £1 million will go towards equipment and training in care homes to prevent falls and reduce admissions among older people.
Households struggling with energy costs will also benefit from an expanded Nest Warm Homes scheme, with £30 million invested this year to help low-income families heat their homes and avoid damp or cold living conditions.
Further community support includes £600,000 for “warm welcome” spaces and £940,000 to help people struggling with food costs.
Following last year’s Storms Bert and Darragh, the government has also strengthened its flood resilience measures, investing £6 million to improve the national Flood Warning Service. The new ‘Be Flood Ready’ campaign by Natural Resources Wales urges residents to check flood risks for their homes using their postcode and sign up for free alerts.
First Minister Eluned Morgan said the plan was about ensuring Wales was “ready before the challenges of winter arrive”.
“Winter is a challenging time for people, especially the most vulnerable, and is a time when our public services already face their greatest pressures. We prepare for winter all-year round, so that the support people need is in place before the colder months arrive,” she said.
“We’ve seen that in the past month, Wales has moved from drought conditions to flooding, due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather. We made a commitment to improve flood protection to 45,000 homes this Senedd term — we are delivering on that promise thanks to record investment.
“Everyone deserves a warm home and we’re working to help people who are struggling with costs-of-living and paying their energy bills. We are investing more than £7bn between 2022 and 2026 to ease financial pressures on households, help maximise income and help keep more money in people’s pockets.
“We all have a part to play in supporting our communities this time of year. That could be by being vaccinated, using our NHS responsibly or just checking in on elderly or vulnerable neighbours regularly. Let’s all do what we can to look out for each other this winter.”
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