Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36878654›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Heatwaves, hospitals and health system resilience in England: a qualitative assessment of frontline perspectives from the hot summer of 2019.

Katya Brooks, Owen Landeg, Sari Kovats, Mark Sewell, Emer OConnell

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. Review
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  7. Lethal Heat and Humidity Events.Annual review of environment and resources · 2025
    Article
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  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Katya BrooksExtreme Events and Health Protection Team, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8283-7378
Owen LandegExtreme Events and Health Protection Team, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2598-4769
Sari KovatsDepartment of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Mark SewellNational Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response, NHS Improvement, London, UK.
Emer OConnellExtreme Events and Health Protection Team, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), London, UK emer.publichealth@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-9887-5731
UK Health Security Agency · GBLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo critically assess the impacts of very hot weather on (i) frontline staff in hospitals in England and (ii) on healthcare delivery and patient safety. STUDY

designA qualitative study design using key informant semi-structured interviews, preinterview survey and thematic analysis.

settingEngland.

participants14 health professionals in the National Health Service (clinicians and non-clinicians, including facilities managers and emergency preparedness, resilience and response professionals).

resultsHot weather in 2019 caused significant disruption to health services, facilities and equipment, staff and patient discomfort, and an acute increase in hospital admissions. Levels of awareness varied between clinical and non-clinical staff of the Heatwave Plan for England, Heat-Health Alerts and associated guidance. Response to heatwaves was affected by competing priorities and tensions including infection control, electric fan usage and patient safety.

conclusionsHealthcare delivery staff experience difficulty in managing heat risks in hospitals. Priority should be given to workforce development and strategic, long-term planning, prevention and investment to enable staff to prepare and respond, as well as to improve health system resilience to current and future heat-health risks. Further research with a wider, larger cohort is required to develop the evidence base on the impacts, including the costs of those impacts, and to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of interventions. Forming a national picture of health system resilience to heatwaves will support national adaptation planning for health, in addition to informing strategic prevention and effective emergency response.

Indexed as

Government ProgramsState MedicineEnglandHospitalizationHospitalsHumansHealth policyHealth & safetyOCCUPATIONAL & INDUSTRIAL MEDICINEPUBLIC HEALTHQUALITATIVE RESEARCHQuality in health care

Identifiers

PMID36878654
PMCPMC9990610
OpenAlexW4323347341

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.