Preventing avoidable winter deaths must be a political priority - Dan Jarvis

HOW our society cares for its elderly and most vulnerable is an important yardstick by which we should be judged.
Dan Jarvis MP is due to raise the issue of fuel poverty, and excess winter deaths, at Health Questions in Parliament today.Dan Jarvis MP is due to raise the issue of fuel poverty, and excess winter deaths, at Health Questions in Parliament today.
Dan Jarvis MP is due to raise the issue of fuel poverty, and excess winter deaths, at Health Questions in Parliament today.

But, sadly, in the UK we don’t fare well when it comes to our record on excess winter deaths – because every year elderly and vulnerable people die in our country unnecessarily as a result of the cold weather.

This should be a source of great national shame. Most of these deaths are from respiratory diseases and hypothermia, and the single greatest underlying cause is that many vulnerable and elderly people are simply unable to meet the cost of heating their homes.

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Each year, the number of excess winter deaths is calculated by comparing the number of people that die between November and March each year with the number of people who die during the summer months.

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has been campaigning to reduce the number of excess winter deaths caused by hypothermia.Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has been campaigning to reduce the number of excess winter deaths caused by hypothermia.
Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has been campaigning to reduce the number of excess winter deaths caused by hypothermia.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the winter of 2017 to 2018, an estimated that 50,100 people died in England and Wales because of the cold weather – an increase from 34,300 the previous winter and 24,580 the winter before that. In 2013 to 2014, there were 480 excess winter deaths in South Yorkshire, but in 2016 to 2017 that figure had almost doubled to 1,100.

We know from evidence across Europe that more people are dying unnecessarily in the United Kingdom. Scandinavian countries for instance, despite having much colder winters, have significantly lower rates of excess winter deaths. This is because they have made keeping people warm during the colder spells a priority; and it is simply unacceptable that we haven’t.

The tragedy in all of this is that, although we know the numbers are increasing, there is still no serious effort to prevent this increase; and they are entirely preventable.

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We also know that better heating, housing and health are key to eradicating excess winter deaths, but our approach nationally has been woefully inadequate.

Dan Jarvis MP has vowed to challenge the next Prime Minister over fuel poverty.Dan Jarvis MP has vowed to challenge the next Prime Minister over fuel poverty.
Dan Jarvis MP has vowed to challenge the next Prime Minister over fuel poverty.

Co-ordination between organisations is key to effective action; and we must work together to ensure that future cold winters do not have the same devastating consequences for our relatives, friends and neighbours.

There is already some fantastic work taking place – in particularly by voluntary organisations such as Age UK and the National Energy Alliance – to ensure that elderly people are given the right support and advice when it comes to staying warm. But we must join up all of our efforts if we are to eradicate excess winter deaths once and for all.

That is why, earlier this month, I held a round table event to begin crucial work on tackling the number of excess winter deaths in South Yorkshire.

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The meeting brought together practitioners and professionals from across our region, including the directors of public health from our local councils, representatives from the National Health Service and voluntary organisations, so that we can better understand the challenges we face; to understand what activity is already taking place; and to identify where we can make changes and improvements by sharing best practice and learning from each other.

But, alongside our local efforts, we must have a serious, credible and comprehensive national strategy for addressing the underlying causes of excess winter deaths. This strategy requires a cross-government plan, instead of the patchwork approach that we have seen to date.

Such a strategy will require the co-ordination and co-operation between Government departments; local authorities; public health professionals; charities and voluntary organisations; families; and elderly and vulnerable people themselves.

The task is no easy one, but the challenge requires those at the top to take serious action.

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I have been campaigning on excess winter deaths since I was elected to Parliament in 2011, where I have led debates to push the Government into taking action.

I first raised the issue with the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, in 2012 asking him to personally intervene; and I have since raised it with his successor, Theresa May.

And when we get a new Prime Minister next month, I will continue to raise it with them. Because although the task of eradicating excess winter deaths is no easy one, it is one that requires all of us to take personal responsibility for it – and that includes those at the top.

Although the new Prime Minister will take office in the middle of the summer, we simply cannot afford to wait until the cold weather comes to start discussing how we protect and care for our elderly and most vulnerable.

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It is the job of all of us to look out for them – and the new Prime Minister must make tackling excess winter deaths a priority.

Dan Jarvis is the Sheffield City Region metro mayor and Labour MP for Barnsley Central.