Winter pressures are nothing new to General Practice. However, the Winter Flu 2025 season is presenting a unique set of challenges for Practice Managers across England. With rising demand, staff sickness, and the constant balancing act of clinical safety versus capacity, the pressure can feel relentless.
Our goal at My Practice Manager is to support you through the noise. This article outlines key operational considerations for navigating the current flu surge and introduces a new resource designed to take the administrative weight off your shoulders.
The operational reality of winter 2025
The priority for any Practice Manager right now is stability. When demand outstrips capacity, the focus must shift from "business as usual" to safe, managed emergency response.
Based on current operational best practices, here are three broad areas you should be reviewing immediately:
1. Rapid communication is critical
In a crisis, silence creates anxiety. Your patients need to know why appointments are scarce, and your staff need to know exactly what the plan is.
Update your digital front door: Ensure your website and phone lines reflect the current reality immediately. Managing patient expectations before they even reach a receptionist can significantly reduce aggression at the front desk.
Brief your team: A two-minute huddle to confirm "we are in crisis mode" is more effective than a long email no one reads.
2. Triage and prioritisation
You cannot do everything. During peak flu activity, it is often necessary to suspend routine work to protect urgent capacity.
Review your appointment book: Are you still booking routine chronic disease reviews while turning away acute respiratory distress? It may be time to implement a "Red/Amber/Green" prioritisation framework to ensure clinical safety.
Protect your reception team: Give them clear scripts. They need the confidence to say, "We are prioritising urgent medical problems due to high flu activity," without fear of backlash.
3. Infection control and isolation
With respiratory symptoms prevalent, your waiting room can become a transmission risk.
Segregate effectively: Even if you don't have a dedicated room, designating a specific corner for symptomatic patients—supported by clear signage—is a vital step.
Stock management: Keep a close eye on your PPE levels. Flu surges deplete stock faster than anticipated.
Introducing the Winter Flu 2025 emergency response guide
We know that drafting protocols, writing patient letters, and creating triage frameworks takes time you simply do not have.
To help you respond quickly, we have developed the Winter Flu 2025 Emergency Response Guide. This is an urgent operational pack designed specifically for GP Practice Managers in England.
Get the Winter Flu 2025 Emergency Response Guide (£7.99)
It is not a textbook; it is a "copy-paste ready" toolkit. We built it so that if you are implementing it on Christmas Eve at 16:00, you can execute a crisis response in 15 minutes and go home.
What is included?
The guide provides a comprehensive framework aligned with NHS England and CQC expectations. It includes:
15-minute crisis activation plan: A stripped-back, immediate action list to stabilise your practice quickly.
Ready-to-use communication templates: Pre-written emails for staff, scripts for your phone system, and notices for your website.
Clinical triage safety frameworks: Operational structures to help your team prioritise "Red" (emergency) vs "Green" (routine) demand.
Reception scripts: Exact phrases for your team to use when handling abusive patients or explaining delays.
ICB notification protocols: Templates for formally notifying your ICB if pressures become unmanageable.
Pricing to support, not to profit
We understand the financial constraints practices are under. We wanted to provide a resource that offers genuine "practice help" for flu stresses without adding to your budget concerns.
Therefore, we have set the price at just £7.99 (inc. VAT).
This price is set primarily to cover our production and administrative costs. Our priority with this guide is to support the practice management community through a difficult winter, rather than to drive significant profit.
Next steps
If you need to activate emergency measures or simply want a safety net for the weeks ahead, you can download the guide today.
Once your payment is processed, our team will email the digital guide directly to you.
Get the Winter Flu 2025 Emergency Response Guide (£7.99)
Disclaimer: This article and the associated guide are for informational purposes only and reflect understanding as of December 2025. They do not constitute legal, financial, or medical advice. Practices should consult with relevant professional bodies for specific circumstances and always refer to the latest official NHS England and UKHSA guidance