NHS Braced For Patient Surge As Britain Sizzles

The NHS is bracing itself for a surge in the numbers of people admitted to hospital as the heatwave which is forecast to bring record temperature to the UK grips the country.

- Lamiat Sabin

Extra measures are being enforced for ambulance services after the Met Offie issued a number of warnings. The Met Offie has issued the UK’s first ever red alert across a large part of England – from London to Manchester and York – as record-breaking temperatures are forecast from today. An amber warning initially covering the whole of England also came into force yesterday. It will be extended to Wales and southern parts of Scotland today and tomorrow.

The UK Health Security Agency has increased its heat health warning from level three to level four, which it said indicates a “national emergency” – a first for the UK. Level four “is reached when a heatwave is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system, such as power or water shortages, and/or where the integrity of health and social care systems is threatened,” the government said.