NHS website visits surge as people seek tips for heatstroke and sunburn

Storm Newton, Press Association Health Reporter

Visits to NHS web pages have surged in recent days as people sought advice on how to stay safe in the hot weather.

Tuesday was the hottest day in May on record for both England and Wales, according to the Met Office, with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35.1C and Cardiff’s Bute Park reaching 32.9C.

While many people enjoyed the sunny bank holiday weekend, older people and babies can be particularly vulnerable.

There is also a risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion, which is caused by the body losing too much water and salt, and can lead to heatstroke, a life-threatening illness.

NHS England said there were 20,092 visits to its heatstroke advice page on bank holiday Monday, compared to just 488 the previous Monday. Over the whole weekend, there were 36,724 hits.

Elsewhere, people looking for tips on how to deal with sunburn led to 5,342 visits to NHS webpages, with a total of 10,314 over the whole weekend.

Parents also sought advice on how to keep their babies safe, with visits to NHS web pages for baby first aid and sun safety tips surging by almost 3,500% on Monday, with 4,728 hits.

Temperatures are expected to cool slightly in parts of the UK in the coming days.

However, health officials have confirmed that heat health alerts would be extended for 24 hours.

The UK Health Security Agency said amber alerts for the South West, South East, London, East and West Midlands and the East of England will remain in place until 5pm on Thursday, with yellow heat-health alerts for the North West and North East.

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: “While many enjoyed the rare treat of a sunny bank holiday, the soaring temperatures have been of real concern for many new parents, with a 3,500% increase in the number seeking NHS advice for how to keep their babies safe in the sun over the weekend.

“Temperatures are now starting to ease off, but there are still health alerts in place for several parts of the country until 5pm Thursday, so it’s vital that people stay on their guard if they’re looking after those who are vulnerable to the heat.

“Babies, children, older people and those with long-term conditions like diabetes or heart problems are at higher risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke, so we’d urge people to take care and to check on their loved ones during these high temperatures.

“The NHS website has a range of useful information for young children of different age groups to help people parents their loved ones safe and avoid them becoming dehydrated.”