The 2022 summer heatwave resulted in a fifth of UK hospitals being forced to cancel operations during the three days when temperatures soared, a new study reveals.
The 2022 summer heatwave resulted in a fifth of UK hospitals being forced to cancel operations during the three days when temperatures soared, a new study reveals.
Had the high temperatures continued, a further third of hospitals would have had to cancel surgery, as NHS buildings are not set up to withstand dangerously high temperatures.
The team surveyed surgeons, anaesthetists, and critical care doctors working during the heatwave of 16 – 19 July 2022.
They received 271 responses from 140 UK hospitals with one in five respondents (18.5%) reporting the heatwave resulted in elective surgery being cancelled. A further third (35.1%) anticipated that cancellations would have been likely had the heatwave continued.
Read more at University of Birmingham
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