UK hospitals to get better access to cooling after extreme summer temperatures

Hospitals across England are to receive millions of pounds to improve cooling and ventilation after extreme temperatures left patients and NHS staff struggling through one of the most challenging summers the health service has experienced.

More than £32 million is being allocated to projects involving cooling, ventilation and overheating as part of a wider £1.5 billion investment in NHS buildings and facilities announced by the government.

The funding follows a summer in which repeated heatwaves placed significant pressure on hospitals, with some NHS buildings reaching temperatures far beyond levels considered comfortable or appropriate for patients and staff.

Figures obtained from 33 NHS trusts earlier this summer showed ward temperatures during July averaging 31.9C, while one NHS trust in Greater Manchester recorded a temperature of 41.8C. NHS guidance advises that indoor temperatures above 28C should trigger action to reduce overheating.

The heat did not simply make hospitals uncomfortable. Some services were disrupted when cooling systems struggled with the temperatures, including problems affecting operating theatres, while staff were required to care for patients in extremely difficult conditions.

The government said the new investment would help hospitals maintain safer temperatures for patients and staff, protect vital medical equipment and reduce the risk of services being disrupted during future heatwaves.

Among the projects receiving funding is Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, which has been allocated £527,000 to replace air conditioning in one of its units and provide a more stable environment for patients, staff and visitors.

St Peter’s Hospital in Ashford will receive £791,000 to restore reliable cooling capacity and support safe conditions within operating theatres, while Manchester Royal Infirmary will receive £154,000 to replace a chiller used by its PET scanner, where reliable temperature control is important for sensitive imaging equipment.

The £32 million forms part of more than £1.3 billion being spent on maintenance, safety and resilience projects across the NHS estate. More than 950 schemes have been approved, ranging from replacing ageing ventilation systems and electrical equipment to improving fire safety.

A further £200 million will support 10 major hospital projects, including new operating theatres and improvements to children’s wards, maternity services and mental health facilities.

The announcement comes after the NHS recorded its busiest summer on record. Almost 7.3 million people attended A&E departments in England between June and August, around 240,000 more than during the same three months last year.

Ambulance services dealt with 2.46 million incidents during the summer, while NHS 111 answered more than three million calls. Five heatwaves contributed to the pressure faced by health services, prompting warnings that the NHS increasingly needs to prepare for periods of intense summer demand as well as its traditional winter pressures.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said extreme demand was no longer confined to winter and that investment in cooling and ventilation would help hospitals adapt to more frequent periods of very hot weather.

This summer demonstrated how vulnerable some older NHS buildings can be when temperatures rise for prolonged periods. Many hospitals were built at a time when the extreme temperatures now being experienced in the UK were considerably less common, leaving some wards difficult to keep cool during heatwaves.

Cambridge University Hospitals, for example, has said it is continuing to assess where air conditioning can be retrofitted following this summer’s extreme heat. Other measures being considered or introduced include overnight ventilation, solar-reflective blinds and additional insulation to reduce the amount of heat entering hospital buildings.

The government has also instructed the NHS to consider heatwaves and

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