Soaring temperatures across the UK this week has seen a boom in the number of visits to the NHS website for heat-related illness.
There were more than 22,000 visits yesterday to the heat exhaustion and heatstroke page of the NHS website, compared to an average of 4,242 visits to the same page throughout the rest of the month.
The Met Office has forecast that temperatures could peak as high as 38 degrees on Thursday.
The news follows figures1 released by NHS Digital this week that show the number of heat-related hospital admissions hit 690 between April and August 2018, compared to 420 in the same period the year previously.
The South West (110 admissions) and South East (115 admissions) saw the highest number of heat-related admissions last summer, closely followed by the North West which saw 100 admissions as the mercury shot up.
For more advice on heat-related illnesses, visit the following nhs.uk pages:
Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
ENDS
Notes to editors
1) To read the data behind the admissions here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/find-data-and-publications/supplementary-information/2019-supplementary-information-files/heat-related-hospital-admissions
NHS Digital is the national information and technology partner of the health and care system. Our team of information analysis, technology and project management experts create, deliver and manage the crucial digital systems, services, products and standards upon which health and care professionals depend. Our vision is to harness the power of information and technology to make health and care better.
For media enquiries please contact [email protected] or telephone 0300 30 33 888. Follow us on Twitter: @NHSDigital
