DAUK\u2019s sustainability lead has been highlighting the impact of extreme heat on the NHS in a new opinion column and online blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Matt Lee has written an opinion piece in the BMJ titled The NHS must adapt as extreme heat becomes inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In it, he warns that the NHS must be better prepared for increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that without urgent action, preventable harm to patients and healthcare workers will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The column draws on a DAUK survey of 1,111 NHS staff during the June heatwave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than two-thirds said heat had affected patient care and safety, while 83.3% described their workplace as very or dangerously hot. Almost 90% supported the introduction of a legal maximum workplace temperature for healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Lee explores the survey in his BMJ Leader blog titled I can no longer keep patients safe \u2013 Heatwaves and Health Workers: time for political action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In it he highlights the survey findings and DAUK\u2019s calls for action<\/a> in its correspondence to the political leaders responsible for health in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He wrote: \u201cA failure to act will cost even more lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe (at Doctors Association UK), and others in the healthcare community, are ready to support politicians to take bold action to keep us all safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Dr Lee\u2019s opinion column in the BMJ: The NHS must adapt as extreme heat becomes inevitable<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nBold action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n