npower Heath Through Warmth scheme reaches 2000th milestone

01 Jul 2010

npower's Heath Through Warmth scheme has reached two impressive milestones this month, seven years after its launch in Leicester.

The scheme, which is managed locally by Leicester City Council in partnership with NHS Leicester, hit two milestones within days of one another, receiving its 2,000th referral and accessing £2 million of leverage to fund the heating and insulation measures installed for vulnerable Leicester residents with cold and damp related illnesses.

npowers Health Through Warmth scheme aims to help vulnerable residents whose health is made worse by cold and damp living conditions and they don’t have inadequate heating and insulation.

The scheme relies on community workers referring people to the scheme. Each referral is assessed individually by the local Health Through Warmth co-ordinator and funding is accessed from a variety of sources, including the unique npower Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund, government grants and charitable funds to help pay for the installation of appropriate heating and insulation measures.

Elaine Midwinter, Health Through Warmth scheme manager, commented: "We're thrilled that Health Through Warmth has reached two such impressive milestones in Leicester. I'd like to thank the team at Leicester City Council, as well as all our partners and referrers who have helped to make Health Through Warmth such a success in the area. It is thanks to their hard work that we are able to continue improving the comfort and quality of life for vulnerable residents."

One Leicester resident who has recently been assisted by npower's Health Through Warmth scheme is 65-year-old Yvonne Devereux.

Yvonne has osteoporosis and severe arthritis which is made worse by the cold. Towards the end of 2009, Yvonne found her boiler was regularly breaking down and was warned by her engineer that, unless it was replaced, it would stop working completely, leaving her without heating and hot water during one of the coldest winters on record.

As Yvonne did not have the means to fund a replacement boiler herself, she contacted the Leicestershire and Rutland branch of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, (SSAFA) Forces Help, as her late husband had served in the Navy. SSAFA Forces Help quickly referred Yvonne to npower's Health Through Warmth scheme, which arranged the installation of a brand new combi-boiler, funded by contributions from the unique npower Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund and SSAFA Forces Help.

Yvonne commented: "I had never heard of Health Through Warmth before, but when I was told that my boiler needed replacing, I got in contact with SSAFA Forces Help who said that because of my arthritis and osteoporosis I was eligible for help from the scheme.

"Within a week someone had come round to assess the work needed and just before the really cold weather and snow set in, I had a new boiler installed. I'm thrilled Health Through Warmth could help me and I dread to think what would have happened if I didn't have heating during the snowy weather."

Leicester is one of 15 areas across England and Wales in which npower's Health Through Warmth scheme operates. The scheme was set up in 2000 by npower, in partnership with National Energy Action (NEA) and the NHS. More than 57,000 people have been referred to the scheme since 2000, which has leveraged nearly £48 million to secure heating and insulation measures for vulnerable residents with cold and damp related illnesses. More than £5 million has been accessed from the uni