Nurses in Britain have been collapsing at work amid temperatures exceeding 30°C in hospital wards and care homes that lack adequate ventilation, the Royal College of Nursing said on Aug. 13, as parts of the country were forecast to reach 38°C on Aug. 14.
UK nurses collapsing at work as hospital wards exceed 30°C during fifth heat wave of the year
Nurses in Britain have been collapsing at work amid temperatures exceeding 30°C in hospital wards and care homes that lack adequate ventilation, the Royal College of Nursing said on Aug. 13, as parts of the country were forecast to reach 38°C on Aug. 14.
The RCN described conditions in healthcare settings as 'inhumane,' saying members reported working without access to air conditioning, fans or windows that open. The organization said hospitals and social care buildings are 'utterly unprepared for extreme temperatures.'
Among cases cited by the RCN, one nurse working in a ward without ventilation required emergency treatment at the same hospital after collapsing from dehydration. In another instance, a blood machine and medicine trolley had to be removed from a ward to prevent their contents from overheating. In a third case, hospital management reportedly banned fans and portable air-conditioning units due to problems with the electrical supply.
Britain is experiencing its fifth heat wave of the year. The Met Office has warned that the current summer is on track to be the hottest on record. Prime Minister Andy Burnham convened an emergency meeting of ministers and senior officials on Aug. 12 to discuss pressure on emergency workers and farmers caused by the heat.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Aug. 13 that firefighters and ambulance services in the capital were facing unusually high levels of demand. The London Fire Brigade received 27,580 emergency calls in July, approximately 3,000 more than in July 2022, when temperatures in Britain reached 40°C for the first time. On Aug. 5 alone, the brigade received more than 1,000 emergency calls, including over 200 for grass fires.
During one heat wave in June, the London Ambulance Service fielded over 53,000 calls, surpassing the volume received when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its height in March 2020.
- No government timeline or funding commitment for upgrading hospital and care home infrastructure to handle extreme heat is included in the source.
- No response from NHS hospital management or care home operators regarding the specific incidents described by the RCN is included.
- The total number of nurses or healthcare workers reported to have collapsed or required treatment due to heat is not specified.
- No data on patient health outcomes linked to the extreme ward temperatures is provided.
- The source does not clarify whether the emergency meeting convened by Prime Minister Burnham produced any concrete policy decisions.
Read the original at The Straits Times