Plans to help vulnerable during potential power cuts in East Riding
There'd be financial support for people using medical equipment
Plans are being drawn up to help vulnerable people including those who rely on medical equipment in the event of power cuts in the East Riding.
East Riding Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board heard officials from the authority, the NHS and emergency services were planning help for households and to keep schools running during possible blackouts.
Carol Waudby, of the City Health Care Partnership (CHCP), said they would be able help agencies financially support people using medical equipment which needs electricity through their records.
But they added they would need help and to work alongside other public sector bodies in the event of power cuts which last for two or three days.
It comes amid warnings that recent cold temperatures could result in planned, rolling three-hour blackouts if gas and electricity supplies become too low.
The National Grid is understood to have plans for a worst case scenario of having to shut off power to some areas but no blackouts are due at this stage.
Cllr Victoria Aitken, the council’s children and young people portfolio holder, told the Health Board she had spoken to Northern Power about the possibility of blackouts.
Cllr Aitken said she was concerned about what might happen to people, including children, who rely on powered medical equipment.
Ms Waudby said the CHCP would be able to help but could not do it alone in the event of prolonged outages.
She said: “As a community health provider we know how is oxygen machines for instance and it’s really key that we’re involved as we can possibly help people get financial support for the cost of living crisis.
“We’ve also had our own planning meeting in relation to power outages.
“The biggest issue for us is that we’ve got 154 intermediate care beds, if there’s a power outage we couldn’t manage that in isolation.
“There’s some things we can do if it’s three hours but if it’s 48 or 72 hours we’d need a joined up plan.”
Andy Kingdom, the council’s public health director, said the support and assurances authorities and agencies could give in the event of power outages was being looked at.
Mr Kingdom said: “We have our emergency planning colleagues whose job is to co-ordinate this through the Local Resilience Forum through our partners including the fire service and police.
“There’s work going on right down to mapping out which areas would be getting switched off, who is vulnerable in that area and what support we can give them.”
Council Children and Young People Specialist Services Director Ronnie Hartley said contingency plans were also looking at how schools might be affected.
The director said: “There are plans in terms of potential power outages based on a rota system.
“We’re looking at how they could impact schools, especially schools which cook food for others and deliver it to them, all these things a threaded through business continuity plans.”
The Board also heard the NHS had plans to pay people who need electricity for medical reasons but are struggling to afford energy bills.
Lee Thompson, the council’s adult social care lead, said no one should feel that they have to go without power and a national system is in place to support them.
NHS official Simon Cox said people should not feel they have to switch off essential equipment.
He said: “We’ve heard stories from patients who have been discharged from hospital who are using beds that have to be plugged in who are worried about keeping their electricity on.
“It’s important for them to know that people should not feel they have to switch things off.”