PAGE 2
Introduction The purpose of this guide This resource has been developed to support NHS organisations to adapt to climate change. Drawing from a model developed for the public sector in Scotland, this Adaptation Capability Framework provides a holistic approach to organisational change centred around the development of four key capabilities. These are broken down into a series of practical, actionable tasks suitable for any NHS organisation to progress their ability to understand, prepare for and respond to climate change and its impacts.
Case study: serious heat event, Summer 2022 • Temperatures reached over 40C for the first time in England and the UK
• public health: new pressures on the health system as a result of extreme weather events, such as heat exposure, changes to pests and diseases, and the health impacts associated with flooding. It is important to recognise that climate change disproportionately affects some people and places due to factors such as location, age, health, housing tenure, income, and other vulnerabilities. Climate adaptation is any action to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Understanding, anticipating, and adapting to these new challenges is essential to developing a more climate-resilient NHS. Additional information and guidance that sits alongside this resource can be found on WeAdapt.
• The Met Office issued the first ever red heat-health alert
• The UKHSA issued the first ever Level 4 alert, resulting in the government declaring a national emergency • Over 3,000 excess deaths in England over the summer period (over 65s particularly impacted)
Climate change has serious consequences for:
• Rail services were disrupted, Network Rail issued a ‘do not travel’ warning
• delivery of healthcare service: ranging from risks to the healthcare
• Power cuts occurred in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East
estate, the transport networks for accessing healthcare sites and to the resilience of supply chains which provide goods and services to support.
DRAFT (V1)
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online