With temperatures starting to plummet around the country and snow arriving in certain parts, it is timely to remind ourselves to keep an eye out for our elderly, whether they are friends, family or just members of our local community.

The NHS launched a campaign a few weeks ago which is all about this. They want to create what they have called an “army of good Samaritans” to check on older people to help prevent them ending up in hospital because they have been neglected.

Various celebrities, including actress Joanna Lumley, athlete Sally Gunnell and actor Sir Tony Robinson are supporting the appeal which encourages Britons to rediscover “an old-fashioned sense of neighbourliness”.

Among the things people are being asked to help with are clearing snow from driveways, giving pensioners a lift to see their GP and picking up prescriptions.

The Winter Friends campaign coincides with statistics showing that more than half of those aged over 75 live alone with a staggering five million saying that the TV set is their main form of company.

More worryingly, figures showed that the number of pensioners who died during the winter of 2012/13 was 29 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Dr Angie Bone, from Public Health England, says that colder weather, both inside and outside home, directly impacts on someone’s physiology.

She adds: “Blood vessels constrict, resulting in high blood pressure. As blood is diverted away from the skin to keep vital organs going, fluid is lost from the circulation and blood becomes thicker and more at risk of clotting.”

Flu is also a big killer among the elderly and spreads more easily as people spend more time inside.

And 30 per cent more deaths occur among dementia sufferers in winter because the condition causes a disturbance of the automatic nervous system which is responsible for regulating body temperature.

The PHE argues that, longer term, warmer housing and better insulation could prevent many deaths among the elderly in winter. It also urges elderly people to have a flu jab, keep indoor heating to 18-21C, eat regularly, wear warm clothes and ensure their shoes and boots have a good grip if they are venturing outside.

To find out more about the Winter Friends campaign, visit www.nhs.uk/winterfriends