Cold shouldn’t spell trouble for the vulnerable

Cold shouldn’t spell trouble for the vulnerable

Pneumonia, falls, asthma attacks due to cold air, even cardiac problems caused by poor circulation - a winter snap is rated as four times more dangerous than any heatwave says Dr Zahid Chauhan GP.

Sometimes as medics, we have to shrug our shoulders and accept that cold weather causes patients problems.

However, when the icy finger of death touches the most vulnerable through hypothermia, it is enough to make the blood boil.

Campaigning MP Dan Jarvis reckons that around 117,000 people perished because of the cold over a recent four-year period.

Most of that mortality was visited on the vulnerable – the homeless and babies and pensioners living in freezing homes.

The term used to describe the latter’s plight is, “fuel poverty” – largely when a person simply cannot afford to heat their home.

In my opinion, those who govern us deserve a cold blast for allowing such as situation to happen.

In amongst that ire we can take a few practical steps now to make sure our family and friends are safe and warm this winter.

Hypothermia is a killer and recognising its signs quickly is vital.

The condition occurs once body temperature dips below 32 degrees Celsius.

Shivering, slurred speech, all-round confusion and pale skin are tell-tale signs and in severe instances, the person may have passed out.

In such cases, ring 999 immediately.

If you believe someone is at risk of hypothermia, encourage them to keep windows and internal doors shut, wear warm clothes and monitor with a room thermometer that the temperature is at least 18 degrees Celsius.

If you think that someone is stinting on heating their home for whatever reason, try and offer them some practical support which might include going online with them and getting them the winter fuel payment that all those born after 5 August 1953 are entitled to.

The website address is:

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/how-to-claim

Filmmaker Lee Halpin paid the ultimate price for reminding us how exposure to the cold can kill the homeless.

Lee lost his life whilst living rough during a week-long video shoot and the fact that the Red Cross and Mountain Rescue have been onto the streets to teach rough sleepers about frostbite and hypothermia shows how big a problem it is.

If you see a homeless person presenting with the symptoms I have described, do not turn away. Try and move them indoors, wrap them in blankets, give them a chocolate bar or something energy-fuelled and non-alcoholic (survival experts say the much-vaunted medicinal brandy is a total myth!) that can be swallowed easily. Before all of that though, call 999.

There are some things you must not attempt when dealing with a hypothermia patient – including babies, who are also at most risk.

Hot baths and heating lamps should be avoided as should massaging the limbs. Do not add to the severe pressure the person’s heart and lungs are already under.

Best of all, we could instead live in a world where vulnerable people don’t die of cold at all.

And it is my hope that you will not only look out for your neighbours but for those for whom the cold genuinely could be a killer – by supporting charities that care for the homeless, such as the Sanctuary Trust here in Rochdale.

For hypothermia will only be frozen out by warm homes and even warmer hearts.

Dr Zahid Chauhan is a GP, health campaigner and the creator of the Homeless-Friendly programme.