Heating on prescription trial suggests fewer NHS visits

A trial which paid the heating bills of some NHS patients last winter indicated they visited their GP less often.

There was also "emerging evidence" that they needed fewer prescriptions and access to out of hours services.

Trial participant James Smith said being warm brought "massive relief" from his lung disease.

Sheffield Hallam University said it was too soon to say if a wider scheme would benefit health and save the NHS money.

The BP-funded, independently run scheme in England and Scotland has now ended.

A spokesperson for the UK government welcomed the findings of the experiment and said it would "continue to keep options under review to further help vulnerable households".

Scotland's energy minister Gillian Martin said the trial findings would inform energy support programmes.

In 2021, the typical household paid £1,138 a year for gas and electricity but prices rose sharply after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The average bill is currently £2,074 and will fall to £1,923 in October, based on average usage.

But people who have to use the heating to manage health conditions can face even larger bills.

Widower James Smith, from Middlesbrough, who was part of the study has COPD, a serious lung condition. His health has deteriorated since his wife died. He has also had two heart attacks.

"If I walk from here to the end of the road I've got to stop and make sure I get my breath back and start again. It's not nice. You're gasping for air, breathing heavy," he said.

Mr Smith used to drive a bin lorry but was forced to retire early because of his health conditions. He was shocked and surprised to be invited to take part in the study.

"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," said Mr Smith.

He said he made fewer visits to the GP during the scheme, and said he felt safer in his own home - a result of not worrying about unaffordable energy bills.

By contrast he is "terrified" at the prospect of paying his energy bills without support this winter.

The Warm Home Prescription study began with a very small trial of 28 people between December 2021 and March 2022. It was expanded last winter to 486 households in Aberdeen, 292 in Middlesbrough, 23 in Gloucestershire and 22 in London.

Participants were all nominated by a heath care professional because they had a condition made worse by the cold.

Most had respiratory problems and were over 65, and many were also living in a low-income household.

An energy assessment of their home gave an estimate of how much their energy would cost between September 2022 and March 2023, and the full amount was credited to their energy account.

Researchers from Sheffield Hallam tracked the results, and said there had been a significant improvement in how patients felt about life.

The data suggests a reduced need for primary health care services - GP appointments, out of hours services and prescriptions - by those on the scheme this winter - to what may have otherwise been expected.

They also said people had more money to spend on other essentials such as food.

However, they said a bigger trial would be needed to work out whether a wider scheme would mean patients would need fewer NHS services.

The NHS spends more than £540m treating people living in cold homes in England alone.

Dr Jessica Hollingsworth is a GP and clinical lead for health inequalities in Linthorpe Surgery, Middlesbrough, and provided researchers with the study participants. She said the cost-savings indicated by the trial make it "worthwhile" for the wider community and the NHS.

She said that the trial showed a "return on investment with this intervention and it helps not only the patient but the wider community, so it's worthwhile".

She added that keeping warm allowed patients the ability to go to work as normal, and contribute to childcare or family responsibilities.

Former energy secretary Amber Rudd, who chairs the Warm Home Prescription task force, said the group was already in conversations with a number of health trusts keen to try similar schemes in their area.

"It feels like it could be quite an important breakthrough moment for this particular cohort of people whose health conditions are made worse by being in a cold home and can't afford to address that," she said.

Dr Rose Chard of the Energy Systems Catapult, which designed the scheme, said the findings "are clear".

"Recipients stay warm, well, and out of hospital," she said.

As to what happens next, she is hoping that health trusts, government, Housing Associations, and energy companies take on board that it is possible to achieve results very quickly with a relatively small amount of spending.

"We have an opportunity to create a service from the ground up that reshapes how we deliver proactive care for vulnerable households," she added.

A UK government spokesperson said it had been "providing unprecedented support to families" last winter with "nearly £40bn to cover around half a typical household's energy bill".

The spokesperson added that vulnerable households may also be able to get the Warm Home discount, which is expected to support more than three million families this winter.

Scotland's energy minister Gillian Martin said: "I look forward to seeing the trial findings and recommendations to feed in and inform our support already provided through our Energy Efficiency delivery programmes."

Professor Ian Wilson is the deputy director of the centre for regional, economic and social research at Sheffield Hallam University which analysed the data. He said that although the trial did not have enough participants to solidly conclude that there was a decrease in costs for the NHS, the trial indicated "quite a significant financial gain" for health services.