Advice and guidance for social care providers regarding inclement weather

Extreme cold is dangerous to everyone.  During the winter when temperatures remain abnormally low for more than a couple of days it can prove fatal, particularly amongst older people and other groups who are deemed to be ‘at risk’

There are several measures that Leicestershire County Council takes each winter to reduce the risks that inclement weather can bring for older people.

Community care assessments undertaken by the Social Care Services staff take account of the risks older people face at all times of the year and include additional risk factors during winter months.  Many community care services we provide are aimed at keeping people well and warm, for example, community meals provide a hot, nutritious mid-day meal, home care provides individual support to monitor and address risks older people face daily, benefits advice includes meeting the additional costs of heating.

All key community care services develop contingency plans for bad weather to ensure they can reach as many people as possible, for example, home care managers have details of where staff live in relation to service users and in the event of roads becoming blocked, staff are deployed on foot from their home.

A joint ‘winter plan’ is drawn up with the Primary Care Trusts and University Hospitals Leicester including an escalation plan for if conditions and pressures on resources increase, for example, if there are significant numbers of hospital admissions, the plan identifies joint strategies for dealing with this.

In anticipation of an exceptionally cold winter this year, Leicestershire County Council are working in partnership with Age Concern Leicestershire & Rutland who organise an emergency ‘Wintercare’ line which is publicised via Radio Leicester in the event of severe weather.  This scheme calls on volunteers or ‘good neighbours’ to provide assistance to older people in their community should help be needed with meals, shopping or making sure that there is sufficient heating.

The Adult Social Care Services circulate the Keep Warm Keep Well Winter Guide to all vulnerable older people that we are in contact with.  This booklet provides advice about actions that older people and their carers can take themselves to keep well during winter.

Age Concern also run awareness raising sessions for older people who attend day centres and local community groups on the steps they can take to ensure they keep warm and well this winter.  This includes advice on cost effective heating, details of agencies who can provide assistance to meet the costs of additional heating as well as advice on sensible eating and gentle exercise that can be done within the home. See the Age Concern 'Fit as a Fiddle' pages for more information.

Department of Health's - Keep Warm Keep Well 2008

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