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The Fuel Poverty ‘Energy Bill revolution’

A Warm Healthy Home for Everyone

Fuel Poverty, where people cannot afford to heat their homes to achieve an adequate level of warmth, is a significant issue for many nurses working with those most vulnerable to the impacts of cold homes such as the elderly, children, young people, low income households, disabled people and those with an existing illness or long term condition.

The health impacts of living in cold homes are significant including 24,000 excess winter deaths (according to the World Health Organisation at least 30% are attributed to cold temperatures in the home, averaging at least 7,200 deaths every year in the UK), a variety of respiratory illnesses including double the risk of asthma in children, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, low weight gain in infants, emotional and mental health problems, increased risk of falls and slow recovery from illness. The best long term solution to eradicate fuel poverty is to make all our homes energy efficient.

The Energy Bill Revolution Alliance is campaigning for greater investment in energy efficiency support for fuel poor households - enabling them to keep warm, lower their bills and reduce the significant health burden on families and those that support them.

To support the campaign please take a few minutes to sign the petition at http://www.energybillrevolution.org. Further information about the issues and the energy bill revolution campaign(pdf 230KB) can be downloaded.

Health professionals commit to unprecedented action to reduce health inequalities

Health professionals from a wide range of royal colleges and professional organisations have joined forces to improve patients’ and reduce health inequalities by considering patients’ social and economic circumstances as well as their medical history.

This unprecedented commitment to act by more than 20 health organisations could save the NHS well in excess of £5.5 billion every year. The action, which includes making ‘social’ referrals more important, is detailed in a landmark report ‘Working for Health Equity: The Role of Health Professionals’. The Report was launched at a global conference at BMA House in London on Monday 18th March and consists of a Press Release(pdf 685KB), Executive Summary(pdf 346KB), Quotes of support(pdf 172KB), Commitment to action(pdf 438KB) and Case studies(pdf 457KB) .