As reported by the Telegraph, a heatwave has forced some GP surgeries to close as Britain prepares for record 41C temperature weather
Britain will grind to a standstill this week, with trains across the country cancelled and people told to consider staying at home.
Some GP surgeries have already closed and hospital bosses have warned that the extreme weather has made it difficult to keep services running.
Railway lines have imposed speed restrictions, with both the train operators and Highways England warning people not to travel.
The Met Office has warned that “in general” it would be safer for people to stay indoors.
Schools in several counties, including Nottinghamshire and Hampshire, confirmed that they would close for two days following the health alerts. Others have reduced hours amid Met Office warnings that temperatures will surpass 40C in some areas.
The UK’s has issued a “national emergency” and the first red extreme heat warning covering much of England from London to Manchester on both Monday and Tuesday.
Tracy Nicholls, the chief executive of the College of Paramedics, warned that the “ferocious heat” could kill people.
The deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, said the country should be resilient and urged people to”enjoy the sunshine”, while also taking the “common sense” precautions.
David Davis, a senior Tory backbencher, said: “Obviously, if you’re at risk, if you’re a young child or elderly or you have some other condition, take care and obviously use hats and sunscreen and use the shade. But people exist in Mediterranean climes and handle it. So, if we use common sense we can do the same”.
Another senior Tory MP said he thought the public health messaging was “grossly inflated and scaremongering of the worst kind”.
NHS hospitals and GP premises will be put to the test. Hospital bosses claimed a lack of investment has caused parts of the health service to cancel appointments or move patients to better-equipped facilities.
The director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin, commented: “A lot of the NHS estate is run down and scarcely equipped to deal with business as usual, never mind heatwave conditions.
“The conditions are also making it hard to keep key services running. For example, we’re hearing that some operating theatres are having to be stood down because they’re getting too hot. Another sensitive area is IT server rooms in buildings where the air conditioning is already overstretched”.
Lord Victor Adebowale, the chairman of the NHS Confederation, said hospitals and GP surgeries were buying portable air conditioning units and fans for “unsuitable premises” and that GPs and hospitals could be forced to change appointments.
Knebworth Surgery, in Hertfordshire, has already closed a GP site in Stevenage because it has no air conditioning.
Patients will be moved to an alternative building and offered the chance to rebook their appointments if they do not wish to travel in the heat. The surgery will also conduct home visits for some patients where possible.
There are also reports of patients being offered telephone rather than face-to-face appointments because of the hot weather.
The general advice has been for the public to do “as little as possible” to avoid heat exhaustion, given that there is a 90% chance that the UK record of 38.7C will be broken.
The likelihood that temperatures will hit 40C has also increased from 50% to 60%.
Britons are being urged to stay inside from 11 am to 4 pm, prepare adequately (har, suncream etc.) and drink plenty of water.
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