An Amber Cold Health alert has been issued for the North East and the rest of England this week with warnings in some areas there could be a ‘rise in deaths’ as a result of freezing weather conditions.
With wintry weather forecast across the country in the coming days, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued warnings which start today (Monday, January 6) at 12pm and run until the end of the week.
The North East has also been placed under an Amber alert, starting from 12pm on Monday, January 6 and running until 12pm on Sunday, January 12. It has been placed under the alert due to the potential impact on the health of the population in the region.
An Amber alert means there are warnings that ‘significant impacts’ are possible across health and social care services. These include:
- a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups
- a likely increase in demand for health services
- temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
- challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
- staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
- other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)
While the Amber alert has been issued for all parts of the country, the effects of the cold weather are ‘expected’ in the North East.
The Met Office also issued a yellow weather warning for snow across most of England today (Monday, January 6), with temperatures expected to dip below freezing later in the week.
You can see the full details of the health alert in the North East by clicking on the interactive map below.
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