Children living in fuel poverty in St Helens are being given vital health support thanks to new use of data
05 February 2025
According to government data released in early 2023, 13.4 per cent of households in the UK were in fuel poverty in 2022, some 3.26 million in total. This year, fuel poverty is projected to increase to 14.4 per cent (3.53 million). This pioneering initiative by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is a response to tackling inequalities, using joined-up data from different systems to enable health professionals to pinpoint individuals in increased need of help.
The fuel poverty dashboard is a part of Graphnet population health management solution in Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action, which draws health and care information on 2.6 million Cheshire and Merseyside residents from all parts of the care system.
The fuel poverty program began in February 2023 across Cheshire and Merseyside ICS. This collaborative effort involved building closer relationships with local authorities, energy companies, and health and care services. In December 2023, a Pre-School Wheeze Project was launched in St. Helens, targeting children aged 2 to 7. The goal was to identify children living in fuel poverty and provide integrated interventions to reduce A&E admissions, exacerbations, and improve overall health outcomes for children.
To read more about the initiative please click here
If you are planning on attending Digital Health’s Rewired event this year, you can also hear from Sarah Southern, Clinical Lead , Cheshire and Merseyside, Tuesday 18th March; 12.30, discussing the project. She will focus on
- Harnessing the power of data to tackle health inequalities in NHS Cheshire and Merseyside
- St Helens Warm Homes for Young Lungs project and the patient stories of impact.
- Lesson learned from cross-disciplinary collaboration.
- The next steps including embedding the changes in practice into BAU.
