Winter wellbeing: be weather ready  

Our Advancement of the Professions Team has developed a series of short winter wellbeing blogs on various topics to support the veterinary community, which will be released over the next few months. Whilst not exhaustive, they aim to serve as a useful starting point if you’re looking for support for yourself, a loved one, friend or colleague. This first blog focuses on the importance of being weather ready, and offers a range of practical information, signposting and resources. 

As a season, winter can challenge everyone in what it delivers, from cold and wet weather, to snow, ice, high winds and potential flooding.

Sometimes knowing what to do and who to contact can be a challenge, so below are some useful resources you might find helpful.

Dealing with disruption

• Rural and remote areas may be more vulnerable to disruption and outages during heavy storms, so make sure you’ve planned ahead (for example check your torches, replace batteries, look at getting a power bank to keep you phone topped up, keep candles and matches safely all in a known place which is easy to access, keep a battery powered radio, and keep a note of the numbers to dial in the event of an outage). 
• If you, or someone you know or care for, has a disability or long-term health condition, or if you support children under 5 years of age or are of pensionable age, check with your energy suppliers if you can be on the Priority Services Register (in England, Wales/Cymru and Scotland). If you’re in Northern Ireland, these are called Customer Care Registers. This is a free service which supports and prioritises individuals with additional needs, when there is interruption to energy and water supplies. The disability charity SCOPE, also provides a range of useful information and advice on this. 
• If you experience a power cut and have access to a mobile device, you can visit the PowerCut105 website or call 105 / 0800 6783 105 (in England, Wales/Cymru and Scotland) or NIEN Networks website (in Northern Ireland) to find your supplier and report it. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can use the Relay UK service to help you contact organisations for support. Call 18001 before a number and a ‘Text Relay Operator’ will join the call.
• If you smell or suspect a gas leak, or have a carbon monoxide emergency, you can call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 to report it.
• If you’re at risk of flooding, you can also sign up to Floodline (in England, Wales/Cymru and Scotland) to receive flood warnings by phone, text or email.
• The Food Standards Agency also have useful information on food safety in emergencies. 

Keeping warm

If you’re trying to improve warmth in your home, you can find out ways to improve insulation or heat your home more efficiently on the Energy Saving Trust website.  

• Check your thermostat (typically rooms that you regularly use such as bedrooms and living rooms, should be heated to 18 degrees), and if needed get a Gas Safe registered engineer to check your boiler and heating appliances.    

Be prepared

Ensure you have any necessary food, toiletries and medicines available (including ordering any repeat prescriptions in good time before bank holidays) and emergency numbers are safely stored. You might find it useful to check when your GP surgery, dentist, opticians, and local pharmacies are closed or have reduced opening times (particularly over the festive period).

• You might find it helpful to have regular medications delivered - there are a number of pharmacies (see list of NHS approved pharmacies) which can help with this, and many typically don’t charge for delivery.
• If you need general help when a GP surgery, dentist, opticians or pharmacy is closed, call NHS 111 who can assist with information, advice and referrals.
• In a medical emergency, call 999 and ask for an ambulance, or visit your local A&E department. 

Out and about

The use of weather apps and services such as the Met Office, can be useful to check local weather and prepare for storms and changes in temperature. You may find it useful to check travel websites/apps (such as National Rail and National Highways) for delays, works and issues too.  

• If you’re driving, live or work remotely, check your car is winter ready. Which? Have a useful guide and car maintenance checklist.
• Slips, trips and falls in public places are common at this time of year and are one of the main accidental injuries that people face. Pavements and roads at this time of year can become slippery and ice is not always easy to see, a pair of shoes/boots with a good grip are a worthy investment.