17-7-25: Heat waves threaten our health – is our NHS ready? Healthcare workers, scientists and members of the public gather outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London and the Royal Albert Edward Hospital in Wigan to highlight the risks.

Alice - July 17, 2025August 3, 2025

A group of doctors, scientists and members of the public have gathered outside St Thomas’ hospital in London and the Royal Albert Edward Hospital in Wigan on the 16th and the 17th of July respectively to raise their concerns about the risks of extreme heat on health, healthcare infrastructure and health workers. The Royal Albert Edward Hospital has the highest number of overheating episodes in England^1,2, while in 2022 the temperature was so hot at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital that the IT system failed, cancelling operations and causing major disruption³.

Health workers and scientists hold an outreach stall outside Royal Albert Edward hospital in Wigan today to highlight the health impacts of extreme heat

The two groups handed out leaflets and spoke to staff, visitors and patients about the ways in which extreme heat worsens numerous health conditions, impacts health infrastructure and places an additional burden on staff forced to deal with increased work demands due to the peak in admissions^4,5 in often poorly ventilated departments.

Heatwaves are becoming more intense and more severe as a result of global heating. As a result, over recent years, the frequency of overheating episodes has almost doubled from 2,980 recorded incidents in 2016-7, to 5,554 in 2021-22⁶. By 2050, it is estimated that over a third of health and social care facilities will be in areas of high or acute levels of heat “disadvantage”⁷. Already many NHS premises record temperatures above the recommended maximum ward limit of 28°C⁸.

Health workers and scientists talk to members of the public about the risks of extreme heat on health outside St Thomas’ hospital in London on the 16-07-25

This year’s heatwaves alone is expected to cause an extra 600 deaths⁹, with the young, the elderly, or those with long-term illnesses most vulnerable¹⁰. Furthermore, heat and air pollution worsen each other’s impacts on health and together affect every part of the body, from pre-conception, through pregnancy complications, childhood developmental and breathing problems, chronic kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes, to dementia and mental illness¹¹.

Meanwhile the recently published NHS 10 year plan¹² mentions NHS resilience to extreme weather caused by climate change and reaffirms a commitment to upgrading NHS premises and to NHS net zero. It is however unclear whether there has been joined up thinking regarding the carbon and water footprint of the proposals to put Artificial Intelligence at the heart of NHS care, or the need for low carbon cooling as well as heating.

The outreach action at both hospitals is part of the national heatstrike.uk¹³ campaign which includes a coalition of trade unions and climate groups who are calling for greater awareness of, and action on, the impacts of heatwaves. Its demands are:

1) A national maximum working temperature (a measure already in place in many countries)

2) The introduction of a Heat Furlough scheme to protect workers, and

3) Government commitment to a credible climate plan to limit future temperature rises (the government’s climate road map has twice been found inadequate in the high court¹⁴).

Quotes in support

Dr David McKelvey, a retired GP, said:

“Global and indeed UK temperatures are rising and the number and severity of heatwaves is increasing. I’m worried about how this will put more workers and patients at risk. The government says that it is taking this seriously, but its climate change mitigation plans have been found, for the second time, to be inadequate in the High Court. I hope this action today will help to get more resources to help hospitals, especially the Royal Albert Edward hospital in Wigan, cope with heatwaves”.

A hospital doctor who wishes to remain anonymous, said

“Heat does prove very challenging to patients who are already very sick. It’s difficult to bring fevers down when the ambient temperature is high, particularly as electric fans are now prohibited on infection control grounds. I’ve seen many a patient quite distressed by the heat, and often there is little we can do for them beyond providing wet paper towels to apply to the skin. Not ideal.”

Practicing GP, Dr Christelle Blunden said

‘It’s one thing the 10-year NHS plan mentioning net zero, but there is no discussion around the need to conduct an environmental impact assessment for the plan. Net zero does not sit in a silo separate from other interventions, and we need systems that protect us from extreme heat without making the problem worse.”

Press Contacts:

Dr David McKelvey: 07973 818422

Dr Kathy Fallon: 07526 069337

Dr Alice Clack: 07919 882 601

Media Folder:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1q2KHJ4hXQG5J5uQfWaaaZZ5V0dLpodPb?usp=sharing

Media Coverage:

https://www.wigantoday.net/health/campaigners-against-overheated-hospitals-descend-on-wigan-infirmary-5230066

Notes for Editors:

1.https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24

2. Wigan’s hospitals have more overheating incidents than any others in the NHS

3.https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/21/london-nhs-trust-cancels-operations-as-it-system-fails-in-heatwave