INFORMATION - YELLOW Cold-Health Alert
A YELLOW Cold-Health Alert has been issued for the South West, 10AM on 18/11/2024 until 6PM on 23/11/2024. No Met Office weather alerts/warnings are currently in place for this period.
Weather alert for south-west | UKHSA data dashboard
Below are links to the Cold-Health Alert (CHA) action cards produced by UKHSA summarising suggested actions to be taken by different professional bodies and organisations in the event of cold weather. Please ensure that your service delivery partners are aware of these action cards.
Cold-Health Alert summary action card for commissioners
Cold-Health Alert summary action card for voluntary and community sector
Cold-Health Alert summary action card for care homes and other residential settings
Cold-Health Alert summary action card for services delivering care to people in their homes
Cold-Health Alert summary action card for hospitals and other healthcare settings
Please consider the impacts on your Business Continuity and implement any relevant actions within your own service plans.
The EMU will continue to monitor all alerts and warnings received and will cascade updates and changes to the forecast. At this stage we will not be activating the Severe Weather Co-ordination Group, however, please raise any Business Continuity issues to the EMU to allow us to consider activating the Severe Weather Co-ordination Group if required.
Cold health alert updated for the South East
The yellow cold health alert is in effect from 10AM on 18/11/2024 until 6PM on 23/11/2024 across the South East. The yellow alert has a matrix score of 7. This means:
Forecast weather is likely to have minor impacts on health and social care services, including:
increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people
greater risk to life of vulnerable people
You can see all the weather health alerts currently in place across England on the UKHSA data dashboard.
How to take action if you have a duty to respond
Please review the Weather Health Alert System user guidance to explain how you can use the information contained within the alerts to respond to the forecast weather.
We provide guidance on how to take action for a range of professional groups with a duty to respond, with action cards available for commissioners, health and social care providers, and the voluntary and community sector. Summary action cards are also available below:
For an overview of the weather alerts in place across England, please check the UKHSA data dashboard.
The Met Office may issue National Severe Weather Warnings (for example, snow and ice) with short notice, so you can take appropriate action. Check the Met Office Website to see the National Severe Weather Warnings currently in place.
You can also find information of the latest weather forecast on the Met Office website.
How to protect yourself if you are vulnerable
While exposure to cold weather can affect anyone, some people are particularly at risk. We have published guidance on staying safe during cold weather.
Planning for adverse weather
All organisations should read the Adverse Weather and Health Plan. This is important if you provide health and social care. The plan explains what you should do before and while a cold health alert is in place.
To support local planning, please check the guidance on local resilience forums
About cold health alerts
Chief executives of the following organisations in England receive cold health alerts:
· health trust providers of NHS commissioned care
· local authorities
· social care organisations
The Cold-Health Alert Service in England runs from 1 November to 31 March each year, in partnership with the Met Office. This is the period when low temperatures are likely to occur.
If we observe low temperatures outside of this period, we will issue an extraordinary cold health alert. If this happens, stakeholders should take the usual public health actions.
You can share this email with your organisation or sign up to receive alerts using our registration form. We have a separate form if you would like to update your registration details.
Please let us know if you have a question or have a problem with your subscription. You can also unsubscribe from this service.
Updates to cold health alerts
UKHSA and the Met Office make daily risk assessments. We will issue a new alert should the alert level change.