Heatwave: But experts are warning people to be aware of the risks

10:39am Thursday 18th July 2013 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

A HEATWAVE warning for the West Midlands has been issued by forecasters after temperatures soared beyond 30C.

The Met Office has put out a “level three” alert which is triggered when conditions deemed dangerous to health are reached.

A level three alert is triggered when conditions deemed dangerous to health are reached

The A&E department at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is already experiencing huge numbers of heat-related attendances while experts at Public Health England are warning that the scorching temperatures could potentially be deadly if proper precautions are not taken.

A level three alert is issued when “threshold” temperatures have been hit on consecutive days and the night in between.

These vary from region to region, but in the West Midlands the daytime is 30C and the night-time is 15C.

The current weather warning is just one step below the highest level four alert – classified as a national emergency – where the scorching temperatures continue for so long their impact could extend beyond the health and social care sectors, potentially even impacting on infrastructure such as transport and power.

Public Health England has put its heatwave plan in place and is issuing urgent advice targeted at high-risk groups, such as children, the ill and the elderly.

Carers are being urged to check on vulnerable people and health staff are told to help patients by giving them access to cool rooms, closely monitoring the ill or frail, reducing room temperatures with shading and turning off unnecessary lights and equipment.

People are advised to stay out of the sun between 11am-3pm and those that do have to go out should walk in the shade, apply sunscreen and avoid physical exertion.

Dr Paul Cosford, director for health protection at Public Health England, said: “Local authorities and the NHS should now be familiar with our heatwave plan, which aims to reduce health risks related to heat

“Those looking after schoolchildren or pre-school children during the hot spell should ensure they’ve read the guidance in the plan, which includes specific advice on how to keep children safe on very hot days.

“While hot weather is enjoyable for most people and uncomfortable for some, sadly experience tells us that exposure to excessive heat can kill, with most cases of illness and death caused by heart and lung disease.

“Because we are not used to these very hot temperatures in England, it’s important that local plans are in place to reduce the impact of harm from very hot weather.”

Stewart Messer, chief operating officer at Worcestershire Acute NHS Hospitals Trust, said A&E at Worcester had been particularly busy over the weekend, with 163 attendances on Friday and 193 on Saturday.

He said many of the incidents were related to the hot weather.

“There were several incidents related to DIY carried out at home, as well as incidents involving alcohol and barbecues,” he said. “We saw some insect bites, sunburn and a number of chronic obstructive lung disease, cardiac and stroke admissions – which may have been related to the weather.

“I’d like to say congratulations to our teams, who continue to work hard throughout this hot weather and meet the four hour A&E target. We’d remind everyone to drink plenty of water and do everything possible to keep cool this week.”

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/10556534.Health_warnings_as_Met_Office_steps_up_heatwave_alert/