Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation.
With the number of days of 30C-plus heat in the UK already at a new record of 35, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) became the latest union to warn of unsafe working conditions for many members in hospital wards and care homes.
The RCN, which runs an advice hotline, said some staff had collapsed. Others were left dizzy, nauseous or at risk of fainting while dripping with sweat “from head to toe”. They also faced pressure to keep elderly and vulnerable patients safe alongside keeping medications cool.
Working within a critical care unit in an NHS hospital in the south-west of England, a 37-year-old nurse told the Guardian her ward had reached temperatures of more than 30C and staff were struggling in the conditions.
“Our ward doesn’t have air conditioning, and so we’re all really struggling. We’ve had hot summers before, but I can’t remember ever working in conditions like these back to back,” she said.
Another nurse, working in a community health centre in England, said: “It gets to the point you dread going to work, especially when wearing PPE and providing patient care. We drip with sweat from head to toe.”
Source: The Guardian, 13 August 2026
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