Extreme heat in NHS hospitals is becoming an increasingly important issue for healthcare leaders, clinical teams, estates departments and procurement professionals.
Recent reports have highlighted the difficult conditions experienced by healthcare workers during prolonged periods of high temperatures. In August 2026, The Guardian reported warnings from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that some nurses had collapsed during shifts, while others experienced dizziness, nausea and a risk of fainting while working in exceptionally hot conditions.
The report included an account from a nurse working in an NHS critical care unit where temperatures had reportedly exceeded 30°C. The RCN subsequently called for improvements including better ventilation, increased access to air conditioning and heat-appropriate uniforms.
These reports highlight a wider challenge for healthcare organisations: how can hospitals and other healthcare environments remain safe, comfortable and operational during increasingly severe periods of hot weather?
For NHS trusts, the answer requires more than responding when temperatures rise. Heat resilience increasingly needs to form part of workforce planning, estates management, clinical risk assessment, emergency preparedness and healthcare procurement.
Why Is Extreme Heat in NHS Hospitals a Growing Concern?
Hospitals are complex environments.
Clinical activity operates continuously, buildings contain large amounts of electrical and medical equipment, staff may be required to wear PPE, and many patients are particularly vulnerable to temperature-related illness.
Older hospital buildings can present additional challenges where ventilation, shading or cooling infrastructure was not designed for prolonged periods of very high external temperatures.
The RCN warns that increased workplace temperatures can affect staff health and potentially patient safety. Risks include dehydration and overheating, while individual circumstances such as pregnancy and certain health conditions may require additional consideration within workplace risk assessments.
This makes temperature management both a staff wellbeing and patient safety consideration.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) similarly advises healthcare organisations to have plans in place for hot weather, understand who is most at risk and consider environmental and behavioural measures that reduce heat exposure.
Nurses Reporting Difficult Conditions During the 2026 Heat
The scale of the issue received renewed attention during the extreme temperatures experienced in August 2026.
The Guardian reported that the RCN had received accounts of nurses experiencing dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating and fainting or being at risk of fainting.
One nurse working in critical care reported temperatures exceeding 30°C in a ward without air conditioning.
The RCN called the experiences a wake-up call and argued for improvements including air conditioning, ventilation and access to uniforms appropriate for hot conditions.
The issue extends beyond staff comfort.
Healthcare professionals must continue carrying out physically and mentally demanding tasks, sometimes while wearing PPE, while simultaneously protecting patients who may themselves be particularly vulnerable to heat.
This places additional pressure on clinical environments during prolonged periods of high temperature.
How Does Heat Affect Healthcare Workers?
Working for extended periods in hot conditions can contribute to dehydration and heat-related illness.
According to NHS guidance, symptoms of heat exhaustion can include tiredness, dizziness, headache, nausea or vomiting, excessive sweating, cramps, a high temperature, increased thirst and irritability.
Heat exhaustion should be taken seriously. NHS guidance states that heatstroke is a medical emergency, particularly where someone remains unwell after cooling measures have been taken or develops symptoms such as confusion, loss of coordination, seizures or loss of consciousness.
Within healthcare settings, preventing staff from reaching this stage should therefore be part of effective workplace heat management.
What Does UK Law Say About Workplace Temperatures?
A common question during UK heatwaves is whether there is a legal maximum workplace temperature.
Currently, there is no specific maximum workplace temperature in UK law.
However, this does not mean employers can ignore excessive heat.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that employers must provide a reasonable indoor workplace temperature under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, employers must also assess risks to workers and introduce appropriate controls.
Importantly, the HSE identifies heat as a workplace hazard.
Healthcare employers should therefore consider temperature as part of workplace risk assessment rather than viewing hot wards simply as an unavoidable seasonal inconvenience.
Extreme Heat in NHS Hospitals and Patient Safety
Healthcare staff are not the only people potentially affected by high temperatures.
Patients can be particularly vulnerable because of age, existing medical conditions, reduced mobility, dehydration risk or medication.
UKHSA guidance explains that hot weather can cause illness through dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke and can increase risks associated with cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.
Healthcare professionals should therefore understand which patients are most vulnerable and adapt individual care plans where appropriate.
Healthcare providers are also advised to monitor Heat-Health Alerts and have organisational action plans tailored to their circumstances.
This creates an important distinction between general summer comfort and clinical heat preparedness.
In hospitals, community healthcare settings and care environments, temperature management can form part of maintaining safe care.
Practical Measures Healthcare Organisations Can Consider
Effective heat management normally requires several measures rather than relying on one intervention.
UKHSA recommends considering ways of reducing heat entering and being generated inside buildings. Measures can include switching off non-essential equipment that generates heat, using shading and blinds, managing windows according to indoor and outdoor temperatures, and using cooler periods such as evenings and early mornings to increase airflow where this can be done safely.
Organisations should also consider staff access to cool drinking water and opportunities to remain hydrated.
The suitability of every intervention will depend on the clinical environment.
Infection prevention requirements, patient vulnerability, electrical safety, ventilation arrangements, medical equipment and local risk assessments must always be considered.
Using Fans in Healthcare Environments
Portable fans can provide additional air movement in suitable environments, but their use requires appropriate consideration.
UKHSA advises that fans may be used when ambient temperatures are below 35°C. Above this level, fans can potentially increase body temperature rather than provide effective cooling.
Fans should therefore never be treated as a universal substitute for appropriate ventilation, cooling infrastructure or heat management planning.
Healthcare organisations should also follow local infection prevention and control policies when considering where portable fans can safely be used.
Procurement teams sourcing equipment for hot weather should therefore work alongside estates, infection prevention, health and safety and clinical teams rather than purchasing cooling equipment in isolation.
Why Healthcare Procurement Teams Should Plan Before Heatwaves
Extreme weather can create sudden demand for cooling and workplace equipment.
Waiting until a severe heatwave has already begun can leave procurement teams dealing with limited stock availability, increased demand and urgent delivery requirements.
A more resilient approach is to incorporate seasonal requirements into procurement planning.
Healthcare organisations can review previous summer demand, identify wards and departments that experience the highest temperatures, assess existing cooling arrangements and establish what additional equipment may be required before temperatures rise.
This can also help trusts avoid rushed purchasing decisions.
Procurement specifications should consider practical factors such as suitability for the intended healthcare environment, cleanability, electrical requirements, maintenance, storage and compatibility with local infection prevention policies.
Building Heat Resilience Into NHS Summer Planning
The NHS has traditionally placed significant emphasis on winter pressures.
However, the extreme temperatures experienced during recent summers demonstrate why healthcare organisations increasingly need robust summer resilience planning as well.
The August 2026 Guardian report quoted the Health and Social Care Secretary saying that the NHS needs to plan for summer pressures in the way it currently plans for winter pressures, including improving the resilience of healthcare buildings to extreme heat.
Heat resilience can involve identifying buildings and clinical areas most vulnerable to overheating, reviewing ventilation and cooling capacity, monitoring indoor temperatures, maintaining suitable hydration arrangements, reviewing staff uniforms and PPE requirements where appropriate, identifying vulnerable patients, establishing escalation procedures during Heat-Health Alerts and incorporating climate resilience into longer-term estates planning.
The objective should be preparation rather than emergency purchasing after conditions become difficult.
Supporting NHS and Healthcare Organisations During Hot Weather
Niche Healthcare supplies healthcare organisations across the UK, supporting NHS trusts, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers with a broad range of healthcare and workplace requirements.
During periods of exceptional demand, procurement teams may need to source products quickly across multiple categories.
A flexible healthcare supplier can help organisations consolidate requirements, locate suitable products and respond to urgent or unusual purchasing needs.
Niche Healthcare works with healthcare procurement teams to source products for clinical and non-clinical environments, including requirements that may arise unexpectedly during periods of extreme weather.
Any equipment intended for a clinical environment should always be assessed against the healthcare organisation’s own infection prevention, health and safety, estates and clinical requirements before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a maximum legal working temperature in UK hospitals?
No. UK legislation does not specify a maximum workplace temperature. However, employers must provide a reasonable workplace temperature and assess and control risks associated with excessive heat. The HSE identifies heat as a workplace hazard.
Can extreme heat affect patient safety?
Yes. Hot weather can increase the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke, and some patients are particularly vulnerable because of age, existing medical conditions, medications or other factors. Healthcare organisations should follow UKHSA heat-health guidance and local clinical procedures.
What are the symptoms of heat exhaustion?
According to the NHS, symptoms can include tiredness, dizziness, headache, nausea, excessive sweating, cramps, increased thirst and a high temperature. Heatstroke requires urgent medical attention.
Can hospitals use portable fans during hot weather?
Fans may be appropriate in some healthcare environments following local risk assessment and infection prevention guidance. UKHSA advises using fans where ambient temperatures are below 35°C and warns that fans may raise body temperature at higher temperatures.
How should NHS trusts prepare for extreme heat?
Preparation can include monitoring Heat-Health Alerts, reviewing high-risk clinical areas, identifying vulnerable patients and staff, assessing ventilation and cooling arrangements, ensuring access to hydration and developing local heat response plans.
Should NHS procurement teams prepare for heatwaves in advance?
Advance planning can help trusts understand likely requirements, avoid emergency purchasing and identify appropriate equipment before demand increases. Procurement teams should coordinate with clinical, estates, infection prevention and health and safety colleagues when selecting equipment.
Conclusion
Extreme heat in NHS hospitals is increasingly a workforce, patient safety, estates and procurement issue rather than simply a question of summer comfort.
Reports of healthcare workers becoming dizzy, nauseous or fainting during periods of extreme heat demonstrate why healthcare organisations need effective heat risk assessments and practical summer resilience plans.
NHS trusts and healthcare providers can prepare by identifying vulnerable environments and patients, monitoring temperatures and Heat-Health Alerts, improving ventilation and building resilience, supporting staff hydration and planning procurement requirements before severe temperatures arrive.
For procurement teams, proactive preparation can also reduce the need for urgent purchasing during periods when cooling equipment is experiencing exceptionally high demand.
Niche Healthcare supports NHS trusts and healthcare organisations with healthcare supplies and wider procurement requirements across the UK.
References
The Guardian – Nurses fainting in ‘inhumane’ conditions due to extreme heat, union warns
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/13/nurses-fainting-inhumane-conditions-due-to-extreme-heat-uk-union-warns
Royal College of Nursing – Working in hot weather
https://www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Help/RCN-advice/working-in-hot-weather
Health and Safety Executive – Temperature in the workplace: what the law says
https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/employer/the-law.htm
GOV.UK – Workplace temperatures
https://www.gov.uk/workplace-temperatures
UKHSA – Supporting vulnerable people before and during hot weather: healthcare professionals
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-vulnerable-people-before-and-during-hot-weather-healthcare-professionals
NHS – Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heat-exhaustion-heatstroke/
NHS – Heatwave: how to cope in hot weather
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/
Published by Maisie McNamara | Clinical Marketing Team
Extreme heat in NHS hospitals Infographic
See our full selection:
Healthcare Supplies in Aberdeen | Niche Healthcare
Healthcare Supplies in Basildon | Niche Healthcare
Healthcare Supplies in Basingstoke | Niche Healthcare
Healthcare Supplies in London | Niche Healthcare
For procurement details, bulk purchasing, and further product information, contact our team today on 01274 965089 or check out our website at www.nicheofficesolutions.co.uk / www.nicheofficesolutions.co.uk/niche-nhs
Further clinical information can be found on our blog page: www.nicheofficesolutions.co.uk/category/niche-healthcare-news
For products not found on our online website, please view our Healthcare catalogues: www.nicheofficesolutions.co.uk/healthcare-catalogues
View our Healthcare YouTube videos Playlist
If you have any additional questions, drop us an email at info@nicheofficesolutions.co.uk