I'm a geriatric doctor: My patients won't survive the winter without action on energy

20 November 2024, 14:14 | Updated: 20 November 2024, 14:29

As a Consultant Geriatrician, I see patients coming in wearing five layers of clothing because they can’t afford to turn on the heating. The cold is harming their health.

Now Winter Fuel Payment cuts are pushing thousands more into poverty. Pension credit won’t cut it.

My patients don’t always know what benefits they’re entitled to, and I’ve tried filling in the forms myself - it’s horrendously complicated.

As the depressing news that energy bills will rise again, it is urgent that the UK government and energy companies make a minimum standard commitment to protect the most vulnerable.

Not enough people realise that the World Health Organisation recommends a minimum indoor temperature of 18-21°C. There are controls in place to ensure that the water coming through our taps won’t make us ill: we need the government to ensure that everyone has access to the energy they need to keep their homes habitable over winter.

Prolonged exposure also increases the risk of worsening respiratory conditions (such as COPD) and mental health conditions. These conditions are major killers in UK society and when indoor temperatures fall below this threshold, it only exacerbates the problem.

When a person does come to harm from prolonged cold exposure, it is their family, carers, and the health and social care system that pays the price. Our NHS and social care system is already over-stretched.

If the government is serious about reducing the ambulance queues, waiting times, and harm caused by these conditions, they must do everything to protect the vulnerable from cold indoor temperatures.

Labour must prevent hospital admissions rising and deaths from hypothermia and respiratory illnesses this winter. They should listen to the concerns of older people like my patients and guarantee a basic energy allowance to keep everyone safe. That can guarantee indoor temperatures of 18-21 degrees.

Many patients are concerned about energy bills and heating this winter. Low indoor temperatures can be a catalyst for other problems. Older frailer people cannot afford to use up extra calories keeping warm.

If they do, they can get into a negative cycle of moving less and therefore are more likely to fall. This means that figures are likely an underestimate of the impact on older adults.

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Dr Chris Hay is a Consultant Geriatrician based in Glasgow.

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