Record heat tests Europe’s healthcare systems

EU healthcare systems are under growing strain as the current heatwave pushes temperatures to record highs during both the day and night across much of Europe.

“We are starting to see, and we expected it, the first deaths,” said the office of the French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist on Thursday. “The situation has reached a critical point and we need to move into crisis management with all possible levers.”

In response to the emergency, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Thursday activated the highest level of the Orsan emergency health plan, allowing authorities to mobilise additional medical staff, coordinate hospitals, doctors and care homes, and postpone non-urgent procedures if necessary.

“Our objective has remained the same since day one: to ensure our healthcare system can endure over the long term and protect the most vulnerable,” Lecornu said.

The day before, in a radio interview, Rist said that “there has been an increase of around 15 to 20% in the number of calls to emergency medical services (SAMU),” rising to 40% in some cities such as Paris and Rennes, as France is the among the countries hardest hit by the heatwave.

For the time being, Rist said that “the situation is normal” in hospitals, while acknowledging that non-urgent operations have been postponed to cope with the increased pressure on the healthcare system. In Paris alone, 25 cardiac arrests were recorded over a 24-hour period on Wednesday, compared with fewer than 10 on a typical day, according to the ministry.

France is not the only country seeing its healthcare system come under pressure.

In the United Kingdom, researchers at the University of Birmingham estimated that up to 4,000 operations could be cancelled during the four hottest days of the week. The reasons include staff shortages, dangerous working conditions in operating theatres, and a large influx of patients due to the heatwave.

London’s ambulance service said on Thursday it had recorded its highest-ever number of “life-threatening emergencies” in one day because of “extreme heat” across Britain’s capital. The service said it responded to 642 “category one” calls, which include the most serious illnesses, such as cardiac arrests and patients who are not breathing.

Spain records over 200 heat-related deaths

The EU’s south-western countries are also on the frontline. In Madrid, although the government has not reported any additional pressure on the healthcare system, Spain is already counting its dead, with at least 212 people dying over the past four days.

In Italy, the heatwave has claimed the lives of at least five people over the past 24 hours.

The coming days could prove decisive, as experts warn that the effects of a heatwave can appear between five and 10 days after it ends because of accumulated dehydration and fatigue.

“Even after the heatwave has ended, emergency departments will continue to receive patients suffering from the consequences of the heat,” emergency physician Guy Borgers told Flemish broadcaster VRT, as temperatures are also soaring in Belgium.

According to VRT, hospitals are expecting a sharp increase in the number of heat-related patients.

Temperatures are expected to remain at extreme levels until the end of the week before an Atlantic airflow brings more moderate – though limited – relief to Portugal, Spain and then parts of France.

It will take until the end of the weekend for temperatures to begin falling in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom, with Italy following later.

(bms, aw)