Keep warm

Heat your home to at least 18°C (65°F). You may prefer your main living room to be slightly warmer. Keep your bedroom window closed on a winter’s night. Breathing in cold air can increase the risk of chest infections.

Get financial support

There are grants, benefits and sources of advice available to make your home more energy efficient, improve your heating or help with bills. View the Keep Warm Keep Well booklet on the Public Health England website to learn more.

Kent County Council and your local district council may also be able to help with the cost of boiler replacement or insulation through the Warm Homes Scheme.

Look after yourself

• Contact your GP to get your free flu jab if you are aged 65 or over, live in a residential or nursing home, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person. NHS Choices provides information about flu. Visit www.nhs.uk/flu to learn more.
• Don’t delay in getting treatment for minor winter ailments like colds or sore throats. Visit your local pharmacist for advice on treatment before it gets worse so you can recover quicker.
• Layer your clothing whether you are indoors or outside. Wrap a scarf around your mouth to protect your lungs from the cold air.
• Wear shoes with a good grip if you need to go outside.
• When you’re indoors, try not to sit still for more than an hour or so. Get up, stretch your legs and make yourself a warm drink.
• Have your heating and cooking appliances checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer to make sure they are operating safely.
• Contact your water and power suppliers to see if you can be on the Priority Services Register, a service for older and disabled people.
• For more information about how to stay warm and well in winter visit Age UK’s website www.ageuk.org.uk/winterprep or download this guide.
• For non-emergency health advice, call 111
• For more winter wellness tips visit www.nhs.uk/keepwarmkeepwell
• For information about health services in Kent visit www.kent.gov.uk/health

Stay safe in your home

When the temperature drops care needs to be taken not to increase the risk of having a fire in your home. This can happen with greater use of portable heaters and open fires.

• Get more information about keeping your home, family and friends safe
• Chimneys and open fires
• Electrical safety
• Getting older or living alone

The most important thing you can do is make sure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home.

Call us today for your free home safety services - 0800 923 7000 (or email your contact details to home@kent.fire-uk.org)