9 ELDERLY PEOPLE DIE EVERY HOUR OF THE COLD.

[ivanhoe]

THOUSANDS of pensioners died from cold-related illnesses last winter as heating bills soared and temperatures plummeted, official figures reveal.

The number of deaths linked to the cold between December and March reached 25,400 in England and Wales, with another 2,760 in Scotland.

The figures are equivalent to nine deaths every hour.

The total gave Britain the highest winter death rate in northern Europe, worse than much colder countries such as Finland and Sweden.

There are fears the death toll could increase this year following energy price rises which may frighten elderly people into not turning on their heating.

Michelle Mitchell, of Age UK, said: ?It?s unacceptable that tens of thousands more older people die in this country every winter from the effects of the cold weather.

The fact that the UK has one of the highest winter mortality rates in Europe makes it clear this is very much a home-grown problem.

Why are you so insulting Ivanhoe?

How do you expect to be taken seriously if you insult everyone who questions you further or perhaps doesn't agree with you?

IMO, it is people such as yourself who give pensioners a bad name.

You must feel uncomfortable stating how much of a pension you believe you should get, because once again, instead of answering a very simple question, you have chosen to insult me, insinuating I am 'thick'.

All I can say is that you must be quite a bitter and angry person to be so insulting and rude so much of the time. I was merely asking a genuine question and one which you clearly cannot answer.

If you like to feel so hard done by and bitter, then that's your choice. Doesn't sound like much of a life to me.

What a horrid horrid person you appear to be.

I wish I'd not bothered posting now, and thanks to your nasty comments, I feel right now, I have zero interest in your crusade, where I was actually interested before.

It's little wonder that so few people bother posting on your threads. You have single handedly annihilated your own threads.

So just in case you're wondering why no one bothers to listen to you, it's possibly because you are rude and insulting, hard done by, bitter and angry.

You reap what you sow. I hope you are enjoying the rewards of your bitterness now.

""How do you expect to be taken seriously if you insult everyone who questions you further or perhaps doesn't agree with you?""

If you dont know what im saying is fact, then you've been on planet Mars for 30 odd years.

Why does ivanhoe disrespect anyone who asks for more analysis? If you want to cure something you really need to understand it. All he wishes us to understand is his opinion.

If we missunderstasnd we will do the wrong things and not get the benefit we wish.

I suspect my father-in-law is in this statistic. He died during the winter. He was exceptionally well looked after, warm and wanted for nothing.

He developed a cough and chest congestion, went to bed and just went slowly downhill. We moved him in with us. Im a recently retired nursing sister. He started refusing food and drinking v little despite enormous efforts to get him to.

2 brief stays in hospital and on the third visit just slowly died.

How can I tell if he is in the statistic?

offensive if true. please write to Dave