Immediate danger to life: call 999 or 112.
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Sources checked 24 October 2026
Make an individual plan with the clinical team, care provider or equipment supplier before an interruption. Record what fails when electricity, water, mobile service or transport is unavailable. Confirm backup duration, essential consumables, safe storage and the action to take before backup runs out. A general battery calculator cannot approve life-support cover.
Keep a paper medicine list, current prescription details, allergies and important clinical contacts. Arrange a sensible supply through normal prescribing and pharmacy processes. Do not miss, halve or ration doses, borrow someone else's prescription, or buy unregulated medicines to extend reserves.
Temperature-sensitive medicines: Ask the pharmacist or clinical team about the particular product and how to monitor it in an outage. A cooler useful for food is not automatically appropriate for medicines; freezing or overheating can also damage them. Do not discard essential medicine or decide it remains usable solely from this general guide. Obtain product-specific advice.
Powered equipment: Follow the agreed contingency immediately when power fails. If the equipment cannot sustain a person's essential care, request help early. Do not disable life-support systems to conserve a household battery. For oxygen equipment, follow the supplied fire and electrical precautions and keep ignition sources away.
Check whether personal alarms, door openers, stairlifts, hoists, hearing equipment and connected sensors work without mains power or network coverage. Record a manual or supported alternative where the provider has approved one. Do not assume a lift will be usable during an evacuation.
Registration: Check eligibility for gas, electricity and water Priority Services Registers in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has provider-specific customer care or critical care arrangements. Tell providers when needs change. Registration helps identify support needs, but does not guarantee uninterrupted power, an instant delivery or a specific restoration priority.
Use 999 for a life-threatening emergency. For urgent non-emergency health advice use NHS 111 in England, NHS 24 on 111 in Scotland, NHS 111 Wales, or local GP and out-of-hours arrangements in Northern Ireland. If communications are disrupted, use your pre-agreed care and local support plan.
Agree a power-loss plan with the relevant clinician, care provider and equipment supplier. Include medicine storage, essential devices, accessible communications and a trusted person who can check in if telecare or phone services fail.
Check eligibility for the Priority Services Register (England, Scotland and Wales) or Customer Care Registers (Northern Ireland). Registration should not replace an individual backup plan.