Heat-Health Alert has been updated for the East Midlands
General Overview – Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays)
YELLOW Heat-Health Alert – (Hot weather response) has been updated for the following regions: North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber and London and is in effect between 09/06/2023 at 09:00 and 12/06/2023 at 09:00.
AMBER Heat-Health Alert – (Enhanced hot weather response) has been updated for the following regions: East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, South East and South West and is in effect between 09/06/2023 at 09:00 and 12/06/2023 at 09:00.
With increasingly humid air and light winds through the weekend, overnight temperatures will be uncomfortable for many, with minimum temperatures widely being in the mid to high teens.
Heat-Health impact risk scores have been derived between the UKHSA and the Met Office for each region and are provided in the below table. Users are advised to refer the regional risk score to the matrix.
| Region | Overall Risk Score | Expected Impacts at Regional Level |
| East Midlands | AMBER (12) | Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays) |
| West Midlands | AMBER (12) | Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays) |
| North East | YELLOW(7) | Minor impacts are probable across the health and social care sector, including: increased use of healthcare services by the vulnerable population; increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm. |
| North West | YELLOW (10) | Minor impacts are probable across the health and social care sector, including: increased use of healthcare services by the vulnerable population; increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm. |
| South East | AMBER (12) | Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays) |
| South West | AMBER (12) | Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays) |
| London | YELLOW (10) | Minor impacts are probable across the health and social care sector, including: increased use of healthcare services by the vulnerable population; increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm. |
| East of England | AMBER (12) | Significant impacts are probable across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures, including: observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also been seen in younger age groups; increase demand for remote health care services likely; internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment; impact on ability of services to be delivered due to heat effects on workforce possible and many indoor environments likely to be overheating, risk to vulnerable people living independently in community as well as in care settings; medicines management issues; staffing issues due to external factors (e.g. transport); cross system demand for temporary AC capacity exceeded possible and other sectors starting to observe impacts (e.g. travel delays) |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | YELLOW (10) | Minor impacts are probable across the health and social care sector, including: increased use of healthcare services by the vulnerable population; increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm. |
Organisations providing health and social care should be aware of the advice and guidance set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan, as to the actions necessary before and during a Heat-Health Alert Period. Specific advice is available in the links below.
Heat-Health Alerts are sent to the Chief Executive of every Health Trust provider of NHS commissioned care, Local Authority and Social Care Organisation in England. If you would like to add a colleague to receive these alerts, please go to: https://forms.office.com/e/Bw6mjea6qa. Feel free to share this link within your organisation, or anyone else you think may benefit from this service. If you would like to update your registration details, please complete the form here: Update registration details. If you have questions or technical problems with the subscription service, please complete the form here: Subscription enquiries.
The Heat-Health Alert Service operates in England from 1 June to 30 September each year, in partnership with the Met Office. This is the period when high temperatures are likely to occur. However, should high temperatures be observed or expected outside of this period, an extraordinary Heat-Health Alert will be issued and stakeholders are advised to take the usual public health actions.
To aid local planning, Local Resilience Forum (LRFs) and their regions can be found here: Guidance – Local Resilience Forums: Contact Details.
