Older people
If you are older, or you look after someone who is
Most emergency harm to older people is cold, falls in the dark, and missed medication. Not the event itself.
Almost everything here is free, and most of it is a phone call.
Get on the register
Priority services, vulnerable customer schemes and medical baseline programmes exist in Britain, the EU and the US. They are free, they are not means tested, and being over a certain age or having a health condition usually qualifies on its own.
Light on the route to the toilet
A battery light in the hall and by the bed. Falls in an unlit house are the single most common injury in a power cut.
Warmth is a medical issue
Cold raises blood pressure and stroke risk within hours in older people. One warm room, layers, a hot drink and a blanket beats heroics.
Write the medicines down
One page, on the fridge and in a bag by the door. If an ambulance or a rest centre nurse ever meets you, that page saves a great deal of time.
Agree who is checking
Name the person. Tell them. Tell a second person who the first person is.