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An urgent programme is required to heat-proof facilities across health and care services in response to climate change, the UK’s main nursing union has urged.
As the country entered its fifth heatwave of the year in mid-August, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that extreme heat is making parts of the NHS an ‘impossible and inhumane’ place to work and receive care.
It said nursing staff calling its helpline have reported colleagues collapsing on shift and experiencing heat-related seizures, and pregnant staff working in temperatures above 30°C.
The calls also reveal a widespread lack of functioning air conditioning, fans or ventilation. Windows often do not open, while leadership in several places refused requests for air conditioning or to relax uniform rules to allow staff to cope better.
Older and more vulnerable patients are being left in hot, stuffy rooms, while surgical patients are recovering in temperatures exceeding 30°C.
Medicines, blood products and clinical equipment are also having to be relocated to prevent overheating and maintain safety standards, according to the union.
Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: ‘Climate change is a serious threat to people’s health and the services they rely on. That’s why we need action – not in two or three years, but now – to prioritise and accelerate investment to upgrade facilities, adapting to the climate crisis as temperatures rise.
‘Employers must also abide by their legal duties to make workplaces safe, by mitigating the risks to staff from the heat. This includes installing air conditioning, improving ventilation, ensuring water and heat-appropriate uniforms are available, and guaranteeing that risk assessments are a core part of business planning.’
Recently appointed Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said she has ordered the NHS to start drawing up summer plans to deal with heatwaves, as it has traditionally done for winter crises.
