‘Absolute disgrace’: Cold houses blamed for hypothermia in the home

Older people are dying from the cold, with an increase in the number of hypothermia cases that’s left doctors stunned.

Doctors and researchers at The Alfred and Monash University conducted a study, published in the Internal Medicine Journal, looking at the number of older adults who needed treatment for hypothermia, some with dangerously low body temperatures in their own homes.

The study looked at the seven years up to 2016, which found more than 200 people had presented at emergency departments, with 23 people dying.

It’s feared some older people were avoiding using heating because of the cost.

Click PLAY to Ross and John get a rundown from Dr Mary Anne Lancaster

Emma King, CEO of The Victorian Council of Social Service, says older people are often hit hardest by the ravages of rising power prices.

“It’s an absolute disgrace that we’ve got particularly older people who are shivering through winter because they can’t afford to turn on the heater,” she told 3AW News.