A Red Heat-Health Alert (opens in a new tab) has been issued for the East of England and temperatures are expected to remain extremely high over the coming days.
At the same time, our hospitals are extremely busy. Alongside the additional pressures that hot weather brings, we continue to care for patients involved in the Bedfordshire train incident.
Our teams are working around the clock and additional measures are in place to help us continue providing safe, high-quality care for patients.
What we are doing
To help keep patients safe and comfortable during the hot weather, we are:
- Encouraging regular hydration and increasing access to drinking water
- Closely monitoring patients who are more vulnerable to the effects of heat
- Using fans and air conditioning units where appropriate, to help patients and staff stay cool
- Monitoring ward environments, medicines and equipment that may be affected by high temperatures
- Putting additional measures in place across the hospital to help manage demand and maintain safe care
Information for patients and visitors
If you need urgent medical advice and it is not a life-threatening emergency, please us NHS 111 (opens in a new tab) online or call 111, where trained advisers can direct you to the most appropriate service.
Please only attend the Emergency Department for serious illnesses and injuries, or when you have been advised to do so.
For safety and infection prevention reasons, we ask that personal fans are not brought into hospital. If a patient may benefit from additional using fans and air conditioning units, please speak to the ward team.
Thank you
We would like to thank patients, families and visitors for their patience and understanding during this exceptionally busy period. We would also like to recognise and thank our staff, who continue to provide outstanding care in difficult circumstances.
More information about how to cope in hot weather is available on the NHS website (opens in a new tab).