NHS tells hospitals to prepare for power outages over winter

Exclusive: ‘Adverse weather’ could add to NHS pressures this winter, warns NHS England

NHS leaders have told hospitals to prepare for power outages and warned that vulnerable patients are more at risk this winter due to fuel poverty, according to a leaked email.

NHS England Midlands has sent an email to hospitals asking them to detail their readiness for power failures over the coming months amid fears that storms could batter the UK as they did last winter.

“This summer has not led to an abatement of demand for NHS services and many trusts have worked under continuous pressure,” the email said.

“Predictions for this coming winter do not indicate that pressures will reduce, concern amongst other things is a current rise in Covid cases and respiratory diseases, requiring hospital services.”

“Adverse weather may contribute to these demands, particularly in extreme cold conditions affecting the vulnerable, which may be more impacted this year than others due to the current climate and fuel poverty, as we do recall the storms of 2021-22 which led to power loss in some regions for several days.”

It comes as healthcare leaders have raised repeated concerns over the risk to patients who cannot afford heat this winter, with some trusts seeking to open “warm banks”.

The warning from NHS leaders comes as the boss of National Grid warned British households that blackouts may be imposed between 4pm and 7pm on “really, really cold” winter weekdays if Europe cuts gas exports.

John Pettigrew said electricity and gas may be switched off on “those deepest, darkest evenings in January and February” if energy supplies from Europe prove insufficient due to the disruption of the war in Ukraine.

NHS England’s email to hospitals on Friday, however, focussed on power losses resulting from “adverse weather” such as Storm Arwen last year.

Hospital leaders were told they need to be “as assured as possible” about their resilience to possible outages.

They were asked to submit information to national teams by 31 October.

The request comes after Care Quality Commission boss Ian Trenholm said services were already struggling to cope and that he was concerned about winter.

Several trusts have reported power outages this year, including Southmead Hospital, West Middlesex University Hospital and Barts Health Trust in London.

NHS trust leaders have previously issued warnings over the lack of investment in hospital estate, warning that buildings lack the capacity to deal with extreme heat, of the type experienced this summer.