Party says vulnerable patients and residents must not be left at risk as Wales faces another spell of extreme heat
THE WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have called on the Welsh Government to urgently fund air conditioning and modern cooling systems in hospitals, care homes and other settings caring for vulnerable people, as Wales faces another period of intense summer heat.
The call follows the late-June heatwave, when Wales recorded its hottest June day, with 35.9C measured at Cardiff Bute Park on June 25. Forecasters have warned that high temperatures are again affecting large parts of the country, raising concerns about the ability of hospitals, care homes and other public buildings to cope.
The party said the recent heat exposed serious weaknesses in Wales’ health and social care estate, much of which was not designed for increasingly hot summers.
During the June heatwave, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board declared a critical incident as services came under severe pressure. The health board said it was dealing with increased emergency attendances from patients with heat-related symptoms, while also being unable to safely care for patients in some hospital areas that were not air-conditioned.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats said that situation should never be allowed to happen again.
They are calling for an emergency capital fund to install air conditioning and other modern cooling systems in hospitals, care homes and facilities used by elderly, ill or otherwise vulnerable people.
The party also wants ministers to carry out an urgent review of the NHS and social care estate to identify the buildings most at risk during future heatwaves. Longer-term investment should also include better ventilation, shading, insulation, passive cooling and more urban tree planting to help reduce heat in built-up areas.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that extreme heat is particularly dangerous for older people, young children and those with existing heart, lung and respiratory conditions. Heatwaves are often described as “silent killers” because many deaths linked to high temperatures are recorded as heart attacks, strokes or complications from existing illnesses rather than heat-related deaths.
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Last month’s record-breaking June temperatures should have been a wake-up call, yet Wales is already facing another dangerous period of extreme heat only days later. This cannot be treated as an isolated event anymore.
“For elderly people living in care homes, patients recovering in hospital and NHS staff working long shifts in sweltering conditions, these temperatures are not simply uncomfortable, they are dangerous.
“The Welsh Government must act now by rolling out emergency funding for modern cooling systems where they are needed most, while putting in place a long-term plan to future-proof our hospitals and care homes against the hotter summers we know are coming.
“Tackling climate change remains absolutely vital if we are to prevent this weather becoming the long-term new normal. But we must also face the reality that the climate is already changing the world around us.
“Preparing our hospitals and care homes for more frequent extreme heat is no longer optional.”
