On Wednesday 14th June 2017, Dr Martiskainen led an interactive session based on her research on fuel poverty and aimed to engage the audience with research conducted by CIED as part of the Care without Carbon ‘Lunch & Learn’ Seminar series at the Brighton General Hospital. Around 12% of households in Brighton & Hove are believed to be fuel poor, which has wider implication for the NHS that treats more patients during the colder months as a result of fuel poverty due to a variety of short and long term health issues. Dr Martiskainen also presented her research project ‘The Fuel Bill Drop Shop‘, which focused on community-led energy cafés. This research, completed together with South East London Community Energy, examined how such energy cafes could be helpful to get best energy use at home.
The session allowed for plenty of audience interaction and engagement. Stimulating discussions followed after the presentation with attending NHS staff and a representative from the Brighton and Hove Energy Services Co-Op, a local not-for-profit community energy group that provides service and advice to people living in fuel poverty. Interesting ideas were discussed about the possibility of running a drop-in center at a hospital, as well as offering information sessions at schools in order to raise further awareness of the issue of fuel poverty and reach out to families in need. Dr Martiskainen’s research has found that community groups could be ideally placed to act as a triage service, bringing different authorities and organisations together for fuel poverty alleviation.
To watch the video of Dr Martiskainen’s presentation at the Care without Carbon ‘Lunch & Learn’ Seminar, please click here.
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Care without Carbon is an initiative ‘by the NHS for the NHS’, and is based on a simple framework for delivering sustainable healthcare, empowering and motivating staff to take action for a better working life and a greener NHS.
Read more about CIED’s work on fuel poverty here.
