Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the correlation between high incidences of medical conditions and the changing of the seasons.

There is a well-established relationship between weather and health; many diseases have seasonal patterns. More people die, or are admitted to hospital, during the winter than any other time of year. There are around 25,000 excess winter deaths each year in England; for every one excess winter death there are approximately eight extra hospital admissions.

Some groups, such as older people, very young children, and people with serious medical conditions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather. Hot weather also affects health. Temperatures in excess of approximately 25ºC are associated with increased respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as excess mortality. Some groups, such as older people, very young children, and people with serious medical conditions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather.

Public Health England (PHE) coordinates the Heatwave Plan and the Cold Weather Plan for England, which aim to raise both public and professional awareness of the health impacts of severe heat and cold weather. NHS England and PHE run the ‘Stay Well This Winter’ campaign annually to encourage people who are particularly at risk of being admitted to hospital during the winter to take actions to help them stay well. This includes information on how to stay warm, keep the home warm and how to access financial help to heat the home.