Nursing staff are collapsing on shift and patients are “suffering” in facilities “not fit for humans” amid extreme heat caused by climate change, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns today.
Scores of calls to the RCN’s advice line during this year’s record-breaking summer have revealed hospital wards, care homes and offices are regularly topping 30 degrees Celsius.
As the country endures its fifth heatwave of the summer, some nursing staff say they are trying to deliver care without access to air conditioning, fans or even windows that open.
It comes after new health secretary Yvette Cooper warned the NHS will have to prepare for annual summer heatwaves in addition to winter pressures, while the government’s own Climate Change Committee in May called for all hospitals and care homes to have air conditioning within the next decade.
The College says extreme heat is making some services “impossible and inhumane” places to work and receive care in, calling for an urgent programme to heat-proof facilities. Specifically, the College says the Capital Guidance, which sets the rules and limits for spending on estates and is issued by NHS England to trusts, should be updated to include adaptations to climate change [NOTES].
The RCN is also demanding the government reduce emissions and play a leading role on the global stage in the fight against global warming. As demand for services grows, there must be a proper plan to reduce emissions produced by health and care services as well, the College says.
Nursing staff report “dripping with sweat from head to toe”, with one in England collapsing from dehydration after working a long shift on a ward with no ventilation, only to be admitted to the same organisation where they worked.
Multiple pregnant nursing staff called the RCN about high temperatures impacting their health, with one working in temperatures as high as 32 degrees Celsius. Two separate members with pre-existing conditions reported having seizures brought on by the heat.
Another member of nursing staff in England, working in an NHS cancer service, reported feeling “nauseous, dizzy and faint” after temperatures exceeded 33 degrees Celsius.
A member working in a community health centre in England, said: “It gets to the point you dread going to work, especially when wearing PPE and providing patient care. We drip with sweat from head to toe."
Nursing staff have raised serious concerns about the impact on patient safety, with some forced to wait and recover from procedures, including surgery, in settings where temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius.
An NHS member of nursing staff in England said their work environment was “excessively hot”, at 36 degrees Celsius, but leadership had not allowed cooling systems or conducted a risk assessment, despite elderly patients using the service.
Another RCN member working in an admission avoidance unit in England said: “We have elderly patients in our clinic, who we are increasingly worried about. We have got to the end of our tether with no support from our immediate seniors.”
Meanwhile, a nurse working in an endoscopy ward in the NHS in Wales said their room had reached 35 degrees Celsius and the air conditioning unit was broken.
A member working on an NHS surgical ward in England told the RCN temperatures were as high as 31 degrees. They said: “We have formally requested aircon units as both staff and patients are suffering in the heat. Especially given our ward is a surgical ward the heat impacts their recovery.”
The testimony also reveals the extent to which nursing staff are having to take measures to protect vital equipment and drugs as temperatures rise inside buildings.
A member of nursing staff in the NHS in England, said: "The medication trolley has had to be removed and taken to the coolest room in the building to ensure the medications retained their efficacy.”
Another told the RCN their workplace was “not fit for humans” and that a blood machine and medicine trolley had to be removed to stop them from overheating.
Employers have a legal duty to ensure workplaces are safe, temperatures are reasonable and that any necessary mitigations are in place. However, the calls from nursing staff reveal a widespread lack of functioning air conditioning, fans or ventilation. Windows often do not open, while leadership in several places refused to accept requests for air conditioning or to relax uniform rules to allow staff to better cope.
A nurse working in an NHS infusion ward in Northern Ireland said in their hospital windows only open minimally, there is no air con and leadership are not allowing fans to be used.
Another, working in an NHS hospital in England, said: “We have been informed that fans and portable air conditioning units cannot be used due to limitations with the wing’s electrical supply, which leaves both patients and staff without any effective way to cool the environment. Patients are now having to bring in their own fans in an attempt to remain comfortable.”
An RCN member working in the NHS in England, said: “Today the ward has become unbearably hot and for the clinic room we have recorded temperatures of over 30 degrees. The trust had provided us with an old and faulty air conditioning unit that was actually raising the temperature in the clinic room.”
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said:
“These testimonies should be a wake up call. When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed. Nursing staff are the closest person to the patient and under the most pressure as the constant presence, but employers aren't doing enough to put mitigations in place, with many staff left with no air con.
“Swathes of the NHS and social care estate are in disrepair following decades of underinvestment and are utterly unprepared for extreme temperatures. It’s becoming an impossible and inhumane place to work or receive care, with vulnerable patients, including the elderly and those recovering from surgery, receiving care in temperatures that risk making them sicker. It's unacceptable.
"Climate change isn't some abstract concept but a serious threat to people's health and the services they rely on. That's why we need action, not in two or three years, but now, to prioritise and accelerate investment to upgrade facilities, adapting to the climate crisis as temperatures rise.
“Employers must also abide by their legal duties to make workplaces safe, by mitigating the risks to staff from the heat. This includes installing air conditioning, improving ventilation, ensuring water and heat-appropriate uniforms are available and guaranteeing risk assessments are a core part of business planning, especially for pregnant or vulnerable workers. We also need specific actions to protect those working in the community, who often are travelling in hot cars, with poor access to parking and left to walk long distances carrying heavy bags to meet patients."
Ends
Notes to editors
The RCN recently outlined employers’ responsibilities under health and safety law: Working in the heat: know your rights | RCN Magazine | Royal College of Nursing
A Well-Adapted UK - Climate Change Committee
NHS England Capital Guidance should be updated to specifically account for adapting to the climate crisis. The previous Chancellor allocated £750m per year to improve the NHS estate through the Estates Safety Fund. This should be strengthened at pace to incorporate specific climate risks related to high temperatures, with the commitment set out long term in the upcoming budget and following spending review.
Figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show 3,000 heat-associated deaths during hot weather in May and June this year, equivalent to a small rural town, and that this year could see the highest number of heat-associated deaths on record: UK Health Security Agency - Interim heat mortality monitoring report, England: May and June 2026
