Where respondents supplied a temperature reading, the median reported temperature was 32C. Nearly one in four temperature reports were 35C or above, with the highest reported temperature 43C.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DAUK-heatwave-survey-1-1024x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nDAUK described the early findings of the survey as \u2018shocking but not surprising\u2019, saying that overheating in NHS workplaces must be treated as a patient safety issue, not just a comfort issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worrying pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dr Matt Lee, DAUK sustainability lead, said: \u201cOur survey confirms a worrying pattern across the NHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoctors and other NHS staff are describing wards, clinics and emergency departments that are simply too hot to work in safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStaff are feeling faint, patients are dehydrated and people are being expected to deliver complex clinical care in conditions that would not be tolerated in almost all other workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s shocking that colleagues and patients are having to endure these conditions, but sadly not surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patient safety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anonymised survey responses included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- \u201cFans are not enough. Windows that open a sliver are not good enough. I cannot function in this heat and patient safety is affected.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cThe patients are also suffering. I had two patients with new acute kidney injuries today that were at least in part due to dehydration from the heat.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cSweat was dripping off me onto a patient. Truly embarrassing. A colleague collapsed and needed time out.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cRewriting a drug chart took 40 minutes whereas it would normally take 10 as we couldn\u2019t focus.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
DAUK is calling for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Legal maximum safe working temperatures for hospitals and GP surgeries<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Urgent investment in air conditioning and cooling mechanisms in hospitals<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Urgent investment in insulation and energy efficiency upgrades in hospital infrastructure so that temperatures remain constant all year round<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Standardised and transparent process for healthcare professionals to report high working temperatures<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Local plans for enhancing safe resting and cooling periods during hot temperature working, including cold water drinking facilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Urgent investment in urban and rural green space enhancement due to the impacts on local cooling and decarbonisation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- An accelerated focus on decarbonisation, with the climate crisis being treated as the number one threat to the health of the UK public, including an urgent public health education campaign on the impacts of climate change on health<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DAUK-heatwave-survey-2-1024x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nDr Lee said: \u201cNHS infrastructure is wholly ill-equipped to deal with the heatwaves that we are regularly experiencing, and patients and staff are suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Routine safety risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe NHS has to prepare for heat as a routine safety risk, not an occasional inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis week the Met Office modelled future heatwaves within our lifetimes peaking at 45C due to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur current heatwaves are already fatal, these would be catastrophic and action must be taken now to mitigate this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe climate crisis is a health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n