I have received the following information which I do hope you will find useful over the next few days whilst the Amber Health Alert is in place. To sign up to receive this information directly, see the links are at the bottom of this article.
An AMBER Heat-Health Alert (Hot weather response)
Has been issued for the South East and is in effect between 09/06/2023 at 09:00 and 12/06/2023 at 09:00. View the full warning at the Met Office Heat-Health Watch site .
Please note that Heat-Health Alerts have transitioned to an impact based alerting, which will provide users with information over and above the fact that hot weather is likely to occur. Alerts are now classified by colours: (YELLOW, AMBER or RED). More information on this can be found on the Met Office website and via the User guide (New impact-based Weather-Health Alerting System)
General Overview:
Increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also be 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)
Impact
- Increased health risks to vulnerable people.
- Increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, lung illnesses, and other diseases.
- Some groups are particularly susceptible to the effects of very hot weather such as older people, the very young and people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Actions to stay safe in hot weather
- keep out of the sun at the hottest time of the day, between 11am and 3pm
- if you are going to do a physical activity (for example exercise or walking the dog), plan to do these during times of the day when it is cooler such as the morning or evening
- keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun
- if you do go outside, cover up with suitable clothing such as an appropriate hat and sunglasses, seek shade and apply sunscreen
- drink plenty of fluids and limit your alcohol intake
- check on family, friends and neighbours who may be at higher risk of becoming unwell, and if you are at higher risk, ask them to do the same for you
- know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if you or someone else has them
For more information
- Beat the heat: hot weather advice
- Heat – Health Alert action card for providers
- Adverse Weather and Health Plan
- NHS Choices Heatwave: be prepared
- WSCC Dealing with extreme weather
- WSCC Preparing for emergencies
- Hot weather and Health: supporting vulnerable people
- Find the latest weather forecasts and warnings
- Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service
- Flood Alerts and Warnings
- Follow us on Twitter for regular updates @WSCCNews and @WSCCResilience