A number of people received NHS prescriptions to pay for their heating at home, and they didn't get as poorly as a result. A BP-funded and independently-run scheme in parts of
England and
Scotland saw some people with health conditions which are prone to becoming worse during the colder months have their heating paid for as part of their prescription. The results of the scheme saw these people, who suffer with conditions like COPD, not become as poorly as they ordinarily would during the winter, the
BBC reports . Read more: Concerns about care of stroke patients in Wales People who need to use the heating in order to manage their health conditions often face large energy bills, which have increased exponentially since
Russia invaded
Ukraine. The BBC spoke to one widower from Middlesborough who was part of the scheme, which ran from December 2021 and March 2022, who claimed to have made fewer visits to the GP during the scheme. He said: "It was a massive relief to be honest, a hell of a relief. It gives you something to live for. Keeping warm, doing what you want and knowing you can afford to. It eased the pressure on me and gave me a better mindset." There were 28 people participating in the scheme and all were nominated by a health care professional because they had a condition made worse by the cold. Most were over 65 with respiratory conditions. Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University followed the scheme and tracked the results. They concluded that there had been a significant improvement in how patients felt about life. The data from the study suggests there were less visits to primary care health services (such as GP appointments, out of hours services and prescriptions) than what was expected. The fact that energy bills were covered also meant people had more money to spend on food. A bigger trial is needed to work out whether a wider scheme would benefit patients and free up NHS services. According to the BBC, a
UK Government spokesperson welcomed the findings of the experiment and said it would "continue to keep options under review to further help vulnerable households."