New heatwave precautions
The UK’s health services are ready to respond to a heatwave, according to Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson.
Amid early Met Office forecasts of a warm summer, the Chief Medical Officer has issued new guidance to help the NHS deal with the effects of unusually hot weather.
In 2003 around 27,000 people across Europe died as a result of the scorching summer. Around 2,000 deaths were attributed to the heat in the UK, and 85 per cent of those that died were aged 75 or over.
Central to the new guidance is an alert system that will operate throughout the summer. The Government, working with NHS Direct and GPs will monitor the rate of daily heat related calls and consultations, and this monitoring will trigger one of four levels of alert.
Level one is the general summer level, reminding people to stay cool; while level two is where in any part of the country there is an 80 per cent chance that heatwave temperatures will be reached for two consecutive days.
When a certain temperature threshold is reached – 32 degrees for London, 30 for the Midlands and 28 for the North – the alert will move up to level three, with level four reserved for when a “heatwave is so severe or prolonged that its effects extend outside health and social care, such as power or water shortages.”
At each stage the emergency services and the NHS will have guidance on the appropriate action to take.
The updated advice includes new public information leaflets – outlining precautionary measures which should be taken in the event of a heatwave. Key advice to the public includes avoiding going outside in the heat of the day, wearing suitable clothing and drinking plenty of water.
Sir Liam said: “As the experience in 2003 demonstrated, it is particularly important that for those over 75, especially those who live alone or in residential homes, the necessary precautions are taken to avoid serious harm through heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
“Timely preventive measures can reduce excess deaths. The leaflet designed to provide the public with common sense precautions will help people to enjoy the weather whilst protecting themselves from the dangerous, and potentially fatal, effects of these temperatures.”
Help the Aged welcomed the announcement, but called on the Government to invest more in research.
Director of policy Paul Cann, said: “Lack of preparedness in the 2003 heatwave across Europe caused a major social, medical and political crisis. While Britain is ahead in its thinking and planning for a heatwave, we would like the Government to invest in the much needed vital research to ensure these plans would actually work in such an emergency.
“Increasing numbers of older people in the UK and their vulnerability to hot weather means they are at particular risk in the event of a heatwave. To our shame, the UK has one of the highest rates of ‘excess’ winter deaths in the European Union and we do not want the same needless suffering to happen throughout our hotter summers too.”
