National health alert issued after Met Office’s ‘red’ risk-to-life heat warning

UK health bosses on Friday warned of intense pressure on emergency services early next week, while the rail industry urged passengers not to travel, after meteorologists issued an unprecedented “red” risk-to-life heat warning for Monday and Tuesday.

And the UK Health Security Agency issued its highest level four alert to health organisations on Friday, signifying a national emergency.

The Met Office, Britain’s national weather and climate service, forecast an “exceptional hot spell on Monday and Tuesday leading to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure” and affecting much of England. Chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said there was a 50 per cent chance that temperatures would top 40°C “and 80 per cent we will see a new maximum temperature reached”. It was the first time the Met Office had forecast 40°C in the UK, he added.

A red warning means it is “very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure”, according to the official definition.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the NHS would be under intense pressure over the coming days, “with severe bed shortages, ambulance services severely stretched and several health systems around the country having to declare critical incidents”.

“The NHS will be working very closely with other public services . . . to do all it can to prepare for a surge in demand for heat-related admissions,” he added.

In a letter to trust and ambulance service chief executives, NHS England said the heatwave would create “additional demand for ambulance services”, which are already under severe pressure.

All 10 were this week operating at the height of their “resource escalation action plans”, a status that usually lasts only for short periods owing to exceptional circumstances or critical incidents.

The letter added: “All systems that are currently unable to offload ambulances within 30 minutes should now take further steps to create capacity within acute hospitals to ensure the rapid release of vehicles.”

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives said that while ambulance services would continue to prioritise life-threatening and serious emergencies, “we are asking the public to help . . . during this difficult time by seeking alternative treatment or advice when appropriate”, it added.

The health department said it recognised ambulance services were under significant pressure and it was working hand-in-hand with the NHS to reduce delays in handing patients over to hospitals and getting ambulances back on the road.

On the frontline, clinicians suggested that the heatwave had simply thrown into relief longstanding structural problems. Adrian Boyle, president-elect of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the NHS was already coping with a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections. “We’re actually much more concerned about the long term under-resourcing, underfunding, under-bedding of our acute hospitals,” he added.

Rail passengers also face severe disruption as Network Rail, which owns Britain’s train infrastructure, warned people not to travel unless “absolutely necessary”.

It said speed restrictions would be introduced across the country in order to stop tracks buckling, adding that as a result “journeys will take significantly longer and there is a high likelihood of cancellations, delays and last-minute alterations”.

Anyone tempted to avoid public transport by driving may face their own difficulties. Motoring group the RAC said it expected the number of drivers needing roadside assistance on Monday and Tuesday to be 15 to 20 per cent higher than normal for mid-July, equivalent to more than 1,000 extra daily breakdowns.

Kit Malthouse, Cabinet Office minister, held a COBR emergency meeting of officials and ministers on Thursday. Further meetings of officials are expected over the weekend.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said after the Met Office red warning: “This warning is not limited to the most vulnerable and means that substantial changes in all our daily routines will be required, and there is likely to be an impact on travel.”

The Met Office also warned of a “high risk” of heat-sensitive systems and equipment failing, leading to local power outages and the loss of other services such as water or mobile phone coverage.

Tom Edwards from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said thermal power stations as well as solar panels were less efficient at high temperatures, while equipment including electricity transformers and lines could transport less power and would require more cooling.

National Grid, which manages Britain’s electricity system, insisted its engineers were “used to managing heatwaves and our demand models account for varying temperatures”.

Analysts suggested companies in charge of local electricity networks might struggle. But the Energy Networks Association, which represents local power network owners, said companies had “escalated” preparations for a heatwave as a “precaution”, even though electricity infrastructure was designed to withstand extreme temperatures.