PCT backs ‘Keep Warm, Keep Well’ campaign
20/12/2007
With the cold weather setting in this week, Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust has been highlighting the useful advice and practical help available to older people this winter.
A wide range of information is available in a new guide including advice on keeping warm and healthy, home improvement grants, heating the home and help with bills.
Director of Public Health at Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, Dr Shona Arora said:
“Keeping warm really matters. Cold weather can also cause other serious health problems which can often be avoided if the right precautions are taken.”
“This is a valuable campaign and I would urge older people, family, friends and carers to pick up a copy of the guide which provides so much useful information and advice.”
The guide looks at three areas, staying healthy, living well and home heating.
Under the ‘staying healthy’ banner, it advises people to stock up on over the counter self care remedies from the pharmacist to tackle coughs and colds.
The ‘staying healthy’ section also provides advice on coping with flu. The best way to deal with it is to:
- stay at home and rest
- drink plenty of non-alcoholic drinks – to replace the fluid you lose from sweating
- eat if you feel able to.
For people who live on their own, the campaign suggests letting a friend or neighbour know if they are unwell, so they can check on them.
NHS Direct provides confidential health advice and information 24 hours a day. If people are feeling ill, and are unsure what to do or would like to find out more about a condition or treatment they can call 0845 46 47 or textphone 0845 606 4647 if they are deaf or hard of hearing.
In terms of preparation, the guide suggests giving up smoking to improve your health and make you ready for Winter. Within two to twelve weeks of stopping, circulation improves throughout the body and walking and exercise gets easier.
For confidential advice and details of support available to give up smoking, please call the Gloucestershire NHS Support to Stop Smoking Service on 08454 220 040.
Under the ‘Living Well’ section, the guide explains that what people eat and drink, and the exercise they take, can make a big difference. Wearing the right clothes is also important.
A balanced diet will help keep people warm and healthy in the winter.
The guide suggests keeping a stock of food from each of the five groups described below in case you can’t get out to the shops in very cold weather:
Group 1: bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta, chapattis
Group 2: fresh fruit and vegetables
Group 3: milk and dairy foods
Group 4: meat, fish, eggs, peas and pulses such as beans (including baked beans)
Group 5: foods containing fat and sugar.
Eating well is a vital part of staying warm and well and advice includes having at least one hot meal a day, having hot drinks throughout the day – and one before bedtime.
During the Winter, wearing the right kind of clothes can help keep people much warmer.
At home, the advice is to wear several thin layers of clothes – this traps body heat better than one thick layer. Clothes made from wool, cotton, or fleecy synthetic fibres are best.
Outdoors, the advice is again to wear several thinner layers of clothing under the coat, rather than one thick layer. We lose a lot of heat though our heads, so it is suggested to wear a hat or headscarf.
Staying active is good for the health. Moderate exercise, like walking, can be very beneficial. If people have an exercise routine, it is recommended to try and keep this up during winter, but not to take risks in wet or icy weather.
If people are outside in the cold for whatever reason, the advice is to keep moving rather than standing or sitting. At home, try not to stay sitting still for long periods.
Under, ‘Keeping your home warm’, the guide recommends preparing the home for winter.
If a home is poorly insulated, it can be cold in winter and will cost more to heat. To make the home warmer in winter people can:
- fit draught proofing – to help seal gaps around windows and doors
- insulate your property – to reduce heat loss
- lag your hot water cylinder and pipes, including those in the loft
- Have your heating system serviced annually. Some gas or electricity suppliers offer free safety checks.
Financial support for insulation and home improvement can be accessed through the ‘Warm Front Scheme.’ For more information people can call 0800 072 0151.
If you are planning to buy an electric fire or heater, advice can be sought from the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512 012.
In terms of heating the home, the advice is to set the thermostat at around 21 degrees centigrade if you are vulnerable to the cold and heat all the rooms you use during the day. Make sure the living room is warm throughout the day and the bedroom is heated before going to bed.
It is also recommended to set the timer on the heating to come on before you get up.
If people are struggling to pay gas or electricity bills, the consumer watchdog Energywatch may be able to help. As well as advice on bills, Energywatch can help people to switch supplier, register people for free services through their supplier and let people know about grants and benefits. The Energywatch number is 0845 688 9594.
