Several NHS trusts in England have declared critical incidents as a direct result of the extreme heat

Queen Alexandra Hospital has declared a critical incident on Wednesday (24th) following the failure of several chiller units supporting critical infrastructure during the ongoing heatwave. 

The loss of cooling capacity has led to elevated temperatures in a number of areas across the Trust, affecting our digital systems and critical clinical services, including theatres, cardiac catheter laboratories (cath labs), and diagnostic scanning facilities. Engineers are already on site working to restore affected systems and minimise disruption to patient care.  

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has declared a critical incident, saying the cooling systems that keep its scanners running had been affected by the heat and humidity.

It said it currently has "no working MRI scanners" across its Norwich sites, including those at the main hospital and its community diagnostic centre. At least 254 outpatient appointments have already been cancelled.

University Hospital Southampton also declared a critical incident.  The high temperatures are affecting some of its systems and critical clinical services, including theatres and diagnostic imaging.

As a result, the Trust cancelled a number of planned operations as well as some outpatient appointments.

Dr Hilary Williams, clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the impact on patients and staff exposed an NHS that was dangerously underprepared for this week’s extreme heat.

She told the Guardian: “There are reports of older patients arriving at hospital having collapsed or with dehydration. Patients are facing overcrowding, and there are issues with machines, laboratories and kidney dialysis – all fundamental to providing safe patient care,” she said.

“The impact of heatwaves on staff cannot be overstated. There is a sense of foreboding when we see the weather forecast, because we know what is to come, and there is very little staff can do.

“It is not as simple as buying fans, which can present a fire risk when used alongside oxygen and may increase the spread of infection,” she added.