NHS Choices’ Winter Friends campaign supports the elderly this winter

Last winter, about 31,000 people in England died as a result of cold weather. Most of these people were over 75 and many of these deaths could have been avoided.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of older people spend much of the winter alone and lonely. According to Age UK, 1 in 20 people in the UK aged 65 and over say they spent Christmas Day alone in 2010.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Our Winter Friends campaign aims to get 100,000 people to sign a pledge to “take time out this winter to look in on an elderly friend or neighbour to make sure they are warm and coping well”.

Everyone who signs the pledge will get free cold weather alerts and email tips throughout the winter to help them do their bit.

For more info and to sign the pledge

Image: iStockphoto