Spread the Warmth
Protect your health – keep warm in winter
Why is Age UK running the Spread the Warmth
campaign?
• There has been an average of 26,700 excess winters deaths in England and
Wales over the last ten years;
• This is an average of just over 200 daily excess winter deaths for people aged
65 or over in the UK (over 8 per hour);
• Older people who live in poorly insulated, cold homes are more likely to
become seriously ill and even die during the winter
• The UK’s excess winter deaths
rate is much higher than in
colder countries, such as
Finland, Germany and
Denmark;
• Excess Winter Death and
associated ill-health are
preventable.
Effects of cold weather
Cold weather causes a spike in health problems:
• heart attacks;
• strokes;
• pneumonia;
• depression;
• worsening arthritis and increased accidents at home (associated with loss
of strength and dexterity in the hands).
Other ways an older person’s health is affected are:
• narrowing airways, making it harder to breathe;
• increasing the risk of respiratory infection;
• increasing blood pressure, an effect which can last for many hours;
• increasing the risk of blood clotting, which along with raised blood
pressure increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.
What are the stats in our area?
Add local statistics from ‘spread sheet of localised statistics’. Download from
www.ageuk.org.uk/costofcold. .
• There is an average of [insert statistics] excess winter deaths in [insert name]
• The number of households in fuel poverty is [insert statistics]
• [insert statistics] of people over the age of 65 with cardiovascular disease, and
[insert statistics] of people over the age of 65 with Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease – these are ‘at risk groups’.
Key Messages: Protect your health – Keep warm in
winter
The longer an older person is exposed to the cold, the more at risk they are. This
is why Age UK is highlighting the below key messages to encourage older
people to protect their health:
• Keep living room temperature at 70⁰F (21⁰C)
• Keep bedroom at 65⁰F (18⁰C)
• Keep your bedroom window closed at night when the weather is cold
• Make sure you wrap up well when going out in the cold.
We have developed materials, which include these messages, to help older
people protect their health this winter:
• Four posters;
• A recipe booklet, full of winter warmer recipes and tips on how to keep warm.
Key Campaign Materials: Posters
Key Campaign Materials: Recipe booklet
What is Age UK doing?
Local Age UK’s are getting involved in the Spread the Warmth campaign in the
following ways:
• Local authorities: Local Age UKs are meeting with and talking to their
councils about what they could do - we want councils to take action to
address excess winter deaths
• Older people: Local Age UK’s are distributing our free posters and recipe
booklets to help older people understand why we are at risk as we get
older.
• MPs and national government: Local Age UK’s are writing to their MP(s)
to ask for their support in the campaign and sign an Early Day Motion
Nationally, Age UK is and its national partners Age Cymru, Age NI and Age
Scotland are the latest charities to join the Energy Bill Revolution – a coalition
of more than 100 businesses and charities calling on the Government to use the
money it gets from carbon taxes to make our homes super-energy efficient.
Age UK’s calls to national and local government
Excess winter deaths must be a health priority in England
• Funding services and other interventions which enable older people to keep
warm during the winter months will protect their health and save costs in both
the NHS and adult social care.
The energy efficiency of older people’s homes must be improved
• Warm, well-insulated homes would enable older people to stay healthier
during the winter. To have an impact on excess winter death rates the
government needs to provide substantial new investment in home energy
efficiency, possibly funded from carbon revenues coming on stream next
year.
What can you do?
•
Support your local Age UK by encouraging your local authority to take action;
•
Encourage your members to order the recipe booklet and Winter Wrapped
Up guide. Ask them to pass these materials to older people they may know;
•
Send a letter to editors of local publications to encourage support for the
campaign.