PENSIONERS and environmental groups called on Scottish politicians to commit to “end the scourge of cold, energy-wasting, hard-to-heat homes” to protect ill and vulnerable older people after figures revealed winter deaths have soared to their highest level for 15 years.
New figures released by the National Records of Scotland showed that 22,011 deaths were registered in the four months between December 2014 and March 2015, an increase of 3,336 on the previous year, which is the highest since the winter of 1999/2000 when there was a flu epidemic.
Statisticians said last winter had a “relatively low level of influenza activity but a seasonal increase in mortality that was unusually high for the 21st century”.
Tom Berney, chairman of the Scottish Older People’s Assembly, said: “It is shocking to see such a sharp increase in winter deaths.
“I am sure it is no coincidence that the rise comes at time when austerity welfare measures were beginning to bite against a background of fuel prices having increased by 20 per cent between 2010 and 2013.
“In our meetings with older people in Scotland we regularly hear reports of people worried about the cost of adequately heating their homes and at worst having to cut down on food to pay their bills.
“According to Government figures there are now almost a million households in Scotland in a state of fuel poverty. Cold and damp are a major contributor to respiratory illness.
“The long term forecast is that next winter will be one of the most severe on record and we must ensure that older people in particular are able to cope.”
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland’s director Theresa Fyffe said it was “indefensible” that cold, hard-to-heat homes continue to leave the most vulnerable at the mercy of cold weather each winter.
She added: “Nurses are on the front-line of caring for patients and are all too familiar with the stories behind these winter mortality statistics.
“Ending cold homes and cutting fuel bills through improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes should be a priority for political parties coming in to next year’s Scottish Parliament election.”
Age Scotland’s Greg McCracken insisted the poor condition of Scotland’s housing stock meant that most of the energy used to heat older people’s homes was being wasted.
He added: “That’s why a comprehensive and long-term approach to ridding Scotland of cold and draughty homes is critical if we are to ensure figures like these are consigned to the history books.”
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said that despite our
Nordic neighbours having even chillier climates, their better-quality housing means that they have less of a problem with increased winter mortality.
He added: “Improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes would make a significant contribution to reducing the number of vulnerable people who die each winter from the effects of cold homes.
“In addition to improving public health, insulating all homes to a C standard would also create up to 9,000 jobs a year, cut fuel bills and help tackle climate emissions.
“We urge all the political parties to commit to eliminating the scourge of cold, energy-wasting, hard-to-heat homes in Scotland.”
Tim Ellis, chief executive of National Records of Scotland, said there was no single reason for the increase but the underlying causes of deaths included respiratory and circulatory diseases, dementia, and Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases.
He added: “Unfortunately, last winter had an unusually high seasonal increase, when compared with the previous 14 winters.
“Looking at our figures, which go back to 1951/52, the long-term trend has clearly been downward. Despite the latest winter’s unusually high figure, the five-year moving average, which smooths out much of the year-to-year fluctuation, is at its second-lowest-ever level.”
Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood urged older people and those with underlying health conditions to take up free flu vaccinations.
She said: “Last winter was a challenging one with deaths being caused by a number of conditions including respiratory and circulatory diseases.
“We have also heard from NHS health boards of more, sicker, patients arriving at hospital, which possibly reflects the growing number of elderly people living in Scotland with multiple health problems.”
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