At a hospital south of Paris, emergency staff scrambling to treat patients during last week’s record heat wave found themselves searching for ice, an unlikely necessity.
Without an ice-making machine, Paris-Saclay Hospital relied on a nearby fast-food restaurant and supermarket-bought supplies to fill cold-water baths used to rapidly lower patients’ body temperatures.
The hospital has since ordered its own ice machine, one of several measures being introduced as French health facilities prepare for future heat emergencies.
“We thought we were ready. We were not actually,” hospital director Cédric Lussiez said, describing last week’s heat wave as “horrible”.
Doctors and administrators say the recent crisis exposed gaps in hospitals’ preparedness and underscored a new reality: heat waves are becoming a recurring challenge, much like winter flu outbreaks.
Heat becoming a seasonal health crisis
French authorities are accelerating efforts to strengthen hospitals against extreme temperatures after last week’s heat wave swept across western Europe.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced a 100 million euro ($114 million) programme to improve cooling systems in hospitals and other health facilities. The government is also purchasing 30,000 air-conditioning units, with initial deliveries expected within days.
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the latest heatwave was “a dress rehearsal” for increasingly severe summers.
“Europe is warming at more than twice the global average. Heat waves are no longer one-off freak events,” the WHO said.
Related
Surge in heat-related emergencies
