The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has written to Health Secretary, James Murray urging immediate action to protect NHS patients and staff during extreme heat.
The move follows a DAUK survey during June’s record-breaking heatwave which found reports of dangerously high temperatures, staff being ill at work and disruption to patient care. Sharing the findings, DAUK is asking for urgent action, including a maximum safe working temperature for hospitals and GP surgeries.
Dr Matt Lee, DAUK’s sustainability lead, says: “This is the latest baseline of extreme weather events which will only continue to worsen as greenhouse gas emissions rise.
“We urge the government to introduce a maximum working temperature and invest in hospital infrastructure to make our healthcare facilities safe for staff and patients.”
The survey found:
• 94.1% of respondents reported having no air conditioning, or only partial air conditioning
• 83.3% of respondents described their workplace as very hot or dangerously hot
• 68.3% of respondents said the heat had affected patient safety
• 86.9% said they or colleagues had felt unwell because of the heat
• 89.8% supported introducing a legal maximum safe working temperature for healthcare facilities.
Among 367 reported indoor temperatures, the median was 33 degrees Centigrade, with temperatures reaching as high as 45 degrees Centigrade.
Heat exhaustion
More than 1,100 doctors and healthcare workers responded to DAUK’s rapid survey. Respondents described patients developing dehydration and heat exhaustion, operations being disrupted, staff collapsing at work and clinical decision-making becoming more difficult in the heat.
In its letter to the Health Secretary, DAUK said the NHS remains poorly adapted to the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat driven by climate change.
DAUK is calling for:
• A legal maximum safe working temperature for hospitals and GP surgeries, in line with the UKHSA’s recommendations for safe working temperatures for inpatient settings
• Urgent investment in cooling mechanisms, such as air conditioning, to give all healthcare settings the ability to achieve safer working temperatures
• Urgent investment in insulation and energy efficiency, to provide more consistent temperatures year-round
• Encourage employers to treat high air temperatures as significant health risks to staff and provide appropriate rest, cooling and hydration facilities
• Accelerate the restoration of nature to rapidly expand greenspaces around healthcare facilities to mitigate against heatwaves and other extreme weather events.
Patient safety
Dr Lee adds that heatwaves should now be treated as a patient safety issue. “The experiences shared by healthcare workers make clear that extreme heat is already affecting patient care, staff wellbeing and the safe running of NHS services.
“Without urgent action, these harms will become more frequent as temperatures continue to rise.”
