preparing for outages if you have a medical condition
what to do now
For each condition below, there are questions to ask your healthcare team. Write the answers down. Keep them where you can find them in a crisis.
Also: read the medical disclaimer. This site gives preparedness guidance, not medical advice.
Register with the Priority Services Register if you rely on medical equipment or medications. It gets you early warning of planned outages and priority help if one happens.
conditions and what to ask
Asthma and COPD
A nebuliser needs power. Inhalers do not need a fridge, but keep them out of extreme heat or cold.
Ask your healthcare team:
- Can my nebuliser run on batteries, and for how long?
- Can I use my inhaler with a spacer if the nebuliser stops?
- What should I do if my breathing gets worse and I cannot reach you?
Cancer and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can lower your defences against infection, so clean water and clean hands matter more in an outage. Keep your hospital's 24-hour chemotherapy helpline number to hand.
Ask your healthcare team:
- What is the 24-hour helpline number, and when should I call it?
- Do any of my medicines need a fridge?
- If an appointment is cancelled, who rearranges it?
Diabetes treated with insulin
Unopened insulin is kept in a fridge. The pen or vial you are using can usually stay at room temperature for about 4 weeks, depending on the type. Insulin must never freeze, so keep it off ice packs.
Ask your healthcare team:
- How long can my insulin stay out of the fridge?
- How much spare insulin and hypo treatment should I keep?
- What are my sick day rules?
Dialysis
Haemodialysis needs power and water, at a unit or at home. Missing a session can be dangerous. Your unit will have a plan for outages: ask for it now.
Heart disease and heart devices
Pacemakers and ICDs run on their own batteries, so a power cut does not stop them. A home monitoring box may stop sending readings until the power returns. A heart pump (LVAD) depends on charged batteries: follow your VAD team's plan.
Ask your healthcare team:
- Is it safe for my home monitor to be off during a power cut?
- Do any of my heart medicines need a fridge?
- Which symptoms mean I should call 999?
Home oxygen
Oxygen concentrators need power. Backup cylinders last a set number of hours. Keep candles and flames well away from oxygen: use torches in a power cut.
Ask your healthcare team:
- How many hours will my backup cylinders last at my flow rate?
- What is my oxygen supplier's 24-hour number?
- What should I do if the power is off for longer than that?
Kidney disease (not on dialysis)
Most kidney tablets do not need a fridge, but some injections, such as those for anaemia, do. A steady supply of your usual medicines matters.
Ask your healthcare team:
- Do any of my medicines need a fridge?
- How much of each medicine should I keep at home?
- Who on my kidney team do I call if I cannot get a prescription?
Mental health conditions
Stopping some medicines suddenly can cause withdrawal or bring symptoms back, so keep a steady supply. If you take lithium, drink enough water: losing fluid in hot weather or a water outage can raise lithium levels.
Ask your healthcare team:
- How much of my medicine should I keep at home?
- What happens if I miss doses?
- Who do I contact in a crisis if my usual support is unavailable?
Medical equipment (general)
Powered equipment, such as ventilators, feeding pumps and suction machines, needs electricity. Some also needs clean water.
Other lung conditions (pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis)
Nebulisers, oxygen and some airway clearance devices need power. Inhalers do not.
Ask your healthcare team:
- Can my nebuliser or airway clearance device run on batteries?
- If I use oxygen, how long will my backup supply last?
- What should I do if my equipment stops working?
Thyroid disease
Thyroid tablets do not usually need a fridge. Keep a spare supply so a delay at the pharmacy does not leave you short.
Ask your healthcare team:
- How much thyroid medicine should I keep at home?
- Does my medicine need to stay cool?
- What should I do if I run out?
if your condition is not listed
This list covers common conditions. If yours is not here, the same principle applies: ask your healthcare team what happens to your treatment, medication and monitoring in a power cut or water outage.
Start with: If someone at home depends on medical equipment or medications. It walks through the three-part plan (safe timeframe, backup power, emergency contacts) that applies to all medical conditions.