Health and wellbeing

Feeling good mentally is just as important as feeling good physically. Emotional health plays a huge role in how we all think, feel and behave.

Poor emotional health and wellbeing can lead to stress, anxiety and depression and panic attacks, and can make it difficult for you to feel positive about your daily life and maintain good relationships with family, friends and colleagues.

Having access to advice about your emotional health can be valuable, and many people find that talking their problems over with someone is extremely helpful.

Please look at the services listed in the Health and Wellbeing section and you can find more information on the Council's Emotional wellbeing web page.

Healthwatch Sunderland empowers people and communities to improve health and social care services.

You can contact Healthwatch to share your views and experiences of using doctors, dentists, opticians, chemists, hospitals, care homes and other NHS funded services.  You can find more information on the Healthwatch Sunderland website.

Healthwatch Sunderland have spoken to care home residents, their friends and relatives, care home staff and management to find out what it’s like to live in the care homes in Sunderland.  You can find out more information on the Healthwatch Sunderland Care home life web pages and by watching their promotional video.

Staying cool in a heatwave
It’s important to be prepared for hot weather as high temperatures can be dangerous to your health. You can find more information about how to manage in the heat on the NHS and Age UK website.

Preparing for Winter
As we get older, our bodies respond differently to the cold which can leave us more susceptible to serious health problems. You can find more information about how to prepare for winter on the NHS and Age UK website.

Cold weather payment
You may get a Cold Weather Payment if you’re getting certain benefits.  You’ll get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below for 7 consecutive days.

You’ll get £25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.  You can find more information about Cold weather payments on the Gov.uk Cold Weather payment website.

Winter fuel payment
If you were born on or before 5 November 1953 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.

You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you are eligible and you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit).  If you’re eligible but do not get paid automatically, you will need to make a claim.

The deadline for claiming payments for winter 2018 to 2019 is 31 March 2019. You can find more information on the Winter Fuel payments website.