Product Update Winter Preparedness 2025 / 2026 – Strengthening Our Response (ICN 3071)
Important Customer Notice Status Update Type Product Update
We all know how busy the NHS gets during winter, with rising cases of flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory illnesses. Ensuring robust winter preparedness is a key priority for NHS Supply Chain. While it’s impossible to predict every scenario, we are using seasonal trends and historical data to support stock build for the peak winter period: late October 2025 to the end of February 2026.
It’s imperative that we work closely with customers to understand what products they need, how much they need, and when they need them, so we can respond swiftly and accurately.
In recent winters, demand has exceeded expectations, impacting product availability and requiring rapid, escalated responses. This year, we’re taking a more robust approach to winter preparedness – building on existing work to be better coordinated, resilient, and responsive.
In addition to our standard winter stock build, we are proactively planning to mitigate delivery challenges and risks. This includes scenario planning and forecasting across three demand levels: baseline, moderate, and extreme.
Key areas of focus
Following a lessons learned review, we’ve identified several areas to strengthen our approach:
- Enhanced collaboration across functional teams for winter planning and preparedness.
- Identification of critical products essential to NHS winter response.
- Improved engagement with suppliers and customers, supported by proactive communications.
- Alignment with national strategies, including UKHSA and other key stakeholders.
Expected benefits
These improvements will deliver:
- Better forecasting shared with suppliers for improved planning.
- Stronger customer engagement to understand product needs.
- Greater assurance for stakeholders on our preparedness.
- More efficient stockholding and demand assumptions.
Winter Working Group
This work is being led by an internal Winter Working Group (WWG) – a cross-functional team established in July 2025, meeting fortnightly to drive actions and improvements.
The WWG includes representatives from:
- Inventory Management
- Supply Chain Demand Planning
- Resilience
- Clinical
- Customer Services
- Customer Engagement
- Voice of the Customer
- Category Teams
- Communications.
Contact us
Core Admin Support
Latest updates:
- We continue to engage with suppliers to implement our robust plans to support winter preparedness.
- We have stock available to meet all current predicted requirements, more stock on order and are continuing to monitor changes in use to adjust future orders as required.
- Key to the success of this strategy is your support and engagement to ensure that our forecasting is as accurate as possible. We particularly seek your support with five things:
- If your trust has not yet done so, we would request that you review current stock levels and forecast any changes to demand from this.
- Submit a demand capture form if you plan any changes to your normal stock levels.
- If you plan to increase buffer stock, we ask that you share that information by emailing our Customer Services team
- If you are aware of any local guidance, or the introduction of new guidance or policies relating to winter preparedness, for example, mandatory mask wearing in all healthcare settings, please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can include this detail in our planning.
- If one of our Customer Services team contacts you to ask for the detail or context behind any larger orders being placed, please actively engage with us. Understanding the circumstances behind larger orders means we know whether to change our forecasting and can ensure an accurate picture of demand nationally.
- For any other queries, please contact your NHS Supply Chain dedicated Customer Service Advisor.
- To support your winter preparedness, we would like to share some important updates on key PPE products:
- FFP3 Face Masks:
- Product availability – some historic FFP3 products codes are no longer available due to the introduction of newer models
- See our Downloads ▼ section for a full product listing of current FFP3 masks, including alternative options for any recently delisted codes.
- Unit of Issue (UOI) Changes:
- Product code BWG85009 has been deactivated
- It is now available under product code BWG85081, with a reduced Unit of Issue from a case of 100 to a box of 5. All other product attributes remain unchanged.
- Product code BWG85010 (case of 120) will be delisted.
- Customers are now asked to order the replacement code, which is now available under product code BWG85095, with a reduced UOI of a box of 10.
- New Product Additions:
- In response to customer feedback, we are expanding our FFP3 range to include three frequently requested Globus masks:
- BWG85093 – MM3S/ALP/3030V
- BWG85092 – ASRAPL300AZ
- BWG85094 – ASRAPL301AZ
- These will be available via the stocked route in the week commencing 3 November 2025.
- In response to customer feedback, we are expanding our FFP3 range to include three frequently requested Globus masks:
- Type IIR Surgical Masks (Earloop, Single Use):
- A product listing of stocked Type IIR masks (including stocking location) is also provided. This range is regionally split, with two nationally available codes. Please ensure you are using the correct codes for your service depot.
- FFP3 Face Masks:
- Reminder: If you are unable to locate a code in the product listing, please ensure it is un-masked before contacting Customer Services.
- See our Downloads ▼ section for the product listing which has further information.
- See our Useful Links section to view our revised delivery dates over the Christmas period.
Customer Action – Help Us to Help You
We are committed to providing timely updates via this ICN and through regular panels including the Resilience and Service Support call. In the meantime, we are asking customers:
- If your demand for winter-related stock is going to significantly change for 2025 / 2026 versus previous years, please contact your Customer Service Advisor and follow the demand capture process.
- If you are aware of any local guidance, or the introduction of new guidance or policies relating to winter preparedness, for example, mandatory mask wearing in all healthcare settings, please also let us know as soon as possible, so that we can include this detail in our planning.
See our Useful Links section to view our revised delivery dates over the Christmas period.
Download our publications ▼
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3071 Winter Preparedness Product Listing and Delisted with Alternatives 31 October 2025
An Excel file showing the product listing and delisted with alternatives for ICN 3071.