Government Action Needed to Halt Rise in Winter Deaths
With one of the coldest winters in years predicted, older people are voicing fears they may not be able to adequately heat their homes because of soaring energy costs. A recent poll by Age concern showed nearly two-thirds were worried about their ability to stay warm with half of older people already cutting back.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that from December 2007 to March 2008, 25,300 more individuals died during the winter months than at other times of the year, up from 23,740 in the previous period. The vast majority of these, 23,200, were aged over 65.

The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) says that many pensioner households are currently spending more than 10% of their income on fuel bills and are living in fuel poverty. They are calling for the Winter Fuel Allowance to be increased to at least £500 for every household and are calling for reduced energy tariffs to be made available for older customers.

Experts point out that few deaths are due to true hypothermia, but to strokes and heart attacks. This is due to the minor degrees of cold that people are exposed to with blood becoming more liable to clot in lower temperatures.

Recommendations to all older people include finding out if they are entitled to claiming benefits, wrapping up in warm clothes both indoors and out and making sure they stay as active as possible. Also, take measures to ensure your general health by eating regular, good meals to provide energy through the day and getting the annual flu jab.

Experts Warn Of 'Risk of Measles Epidemic'
Public health experts are warning that the growing number of children who are unprotected from measles - about 3m or one in four have not had both MMR doses - means there is a real risk of a measles epidemic. The alert comes as official statistics show the number of measles cases in England and Wales has topped 1,000 in a year for the first time since 1995.

It's claimed that fears over a link between the combined measles, mumps and rubella jab and autism has resulted in a decade of relatively low vaccination coverage. It is now thought that this could result in between 30,000 and 100,000 cases of measles in England alone. Although MMR coverage is higher in Scotland and Northern Ireland, experts said an epidemic could affect children anywhere.

Dr Mary Ramsay, an immunisation expert at the Health Protection Agency, said: "Over the last few years we have seen an unprecedented increase in measles cases and we are still receiving reports of cases across the country. The 1,049 figure is the highest number of measles cases recorded in England and Wales since the current method of monitoring the disease was introduced in 1995. This rise is due to relatively low MMR vaccine uptake over the past decade and there are now a large number of children who are not fully vaccinated with MMR."

Although most children recover fully from measles, it can be a serious illness. One in 10 cases requires hospital treatment and it can lead to pneumonia, brain damage and even death. In 1965 there were 115 deaths from measles, but the rates fell off dramatically after the introduction of the vaccine.

Free Morning After Pill in the Lead Up to Christmas
With the closure of family planning clinics, pharmacies and GP surgeries over the holidays means women can risk an unintended pregnancy if a condom splits, they forget to take a pill or they have unprotected sex.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) have announced they will prescribe the emergency contraception for free from their clinics in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, London, Luton, Peterborough and Swindon over the Christmas season.

Although some criticize this action as potentially encouraging a rise in unprotected sex, others see it as a step forward in terms of accessibility to the treatment and promoting women's ability to manage their own birth control plan.