On Friday, February 11, 2011 is Fuel Poverty Awareness Day 2011 in the United Kingdom
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Fuel Poverty Awareness Day is supported by Dr Miriam Stoppard OBE: "National Energy Action's Fuel Poverty Awareness Day highlights that there remain millions of people who are struggling to keep their homes warm and protect their families from the ill effects of the cold. Fuel-poor households experience a number of detrimental health hazards and reductions in general wellbeing as a result of cold, damp living conditions. It is vital that people understand the importance of keeping safe and well during the winter and know where they can go for help."
And that's what it is all about. To highlight and to fight against fuel poverty, against the problem that there are millions of people in this fairly rich country, the United Kingdom, that cannot afford to heat their homes.
Fuel Poverty has adverse effects on physical and mental health. Last year it remained as cold as 4 degrees well into May highlighting the importance of staying warm and keeping the heating on. Last February, overnight temperatures fell to minus 17 and this winter temperatures in some parts of UK fell to as low as minus 23.
There is help available if you are finding it hard to pay your electricity or gas bill. The first thing to do is to contact the Home Heat Helpline for advice 0800 33 66 99.
There is also a range of help available for people who are in or in danger of falling into Fuel Poverty and the updated Fuel Poverty Action Guide, which can be downloaded by clicking on the links, tells you where to refer them for help.
Circulatory health problems associated with cold homes
Being cold in the home increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks and exacerbates Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder.
The effect of cold on the population is starkly illustrated by the increase in winter mortality rates, almost exclusively among the elderly (those aged 75 or over) during the winter months.
Winter deaths in the UK increase by more than 20 per cent over the rest of the year, resulting in an average of 30,000 excess winter deaths across the UK. That's around 250 excess deaths per day.
For older people just a one degree Celsius fall in room temperature can lead to a 1.5mmHg rise in blood pressure, a lower core body temperature and colder extremities. A rise in blood pressure and blood viscosity – caused by mild skin surface cooling – increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
For each winter death there is an estimated eight emergency admissions each winter. Illness as a result of living in cold homes is likely to be significantly higher and are not shown in the figures relating to winter deaths, as only deaths are listed. Much of this illness is both largely predictable and preventable and doing so would save the NHS millions of pounds each year in treatment costs.
The links between cold, damp housing and the rates of morbidity and mortality has been reflected in a number of Government strategies since the late 1990s including Tackling Health Inequalities: A Program for Action that recognized fuel poverty as an underlying cause of health inequality.
But very little – very little indeed if you happen to live in old council homes or with private slumlords – has been done to tackle the problem on a real physical basis.
It is shameful that a country, such as Britain, though I am sure we are not the only one of the developed nations where such things are happening, allows things like this to happen.
Often all that is needed is proper working window seals and, ideally, double glazing; something lacking in many council owned properties and rented out to council workers, for instance, on a very low income.
But, others too suffer, and single parents and the elderly are especially vulnerable, even in homes that they own, when they cannot afford to insulate and heat them.
Get involved and pressure your MP to end fuel poverty in Britain.
© 2011
