Care Homes and Health Services: Temperature

We recognise that extreme heat can pose serious risks to health buildings and services.

All National Health Service organisations are required to have robust arrangements in place for adverse weather, supported by UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) guidance and national heatwave planning. NHS organisations monitor temperatures inside their buildings locally and will respond where needed, and are supported by clear technical standards and guidance including:

• the Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises Part A (2021), which includes requirements for ventilation strategies, including heating and cooling, and which is available at the following link:
  https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/; and

• the Health Building Note 00-07: Planning for a resilient healthcare estate (2014), which includes references throughout to heat wave planning and climate resilience, and which is available at the following link:
  https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/resilience-planning-for-nhs-facilities-hbn-00-07/

We are backing the NHS trust estate with significant capital investment, including £6.75 billion over the next nine years to address the most critical infrastructure risks, including to ventilation and cooling systems. We are also embedding climate resilience in future NHS infrastructure. All Hospital 2.0 compliant schemes from 2025, and all new build neighbourhood health centres, are being designed to be climate resilient from the outset in line with leading building standards, including BREEAM Excellent certification for New Hospital Programme projects. We also continue to back the general practice estate through the £426 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund.

Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities. The Care Act Statutory Guidance provides guidance on managing service interruptions and outlines local authorities’ roles and responsibilities, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring good management of their local market. UKHSA guidance advises care homes to plan ahead, act early on Heat Health Alerts, and prioritise residents most at risk through enhanced monitoring, hydration, and environmental controls.