An estimated 4,354 people have died as a result of heatwaves in the UK since June, according to research published in Nature Health.
Green Party MP for Waveney Valley, Adrian Ramsay said:
“It is deeply concerning that so little attention is being paid by Government to the news that an estimated 4,354 people have died as a result of heatwaves in the UK since June. This death toll should be treated as the national scandal it is.
“The Government did too little in the run-up to a summer to protect communities. Given the scale of the deaths and the pressure this summer put on our health and social care services, it has yet to explain how this could happen, or what concrete steps it is taking to prepare for next summer.
“We cannot continue drifting into increasingly dangerous summers without proper coordination. If the Government wants to fulfil its most fundamental duty, keeping the public safe, it must start acting like it by taking a far more hands-on approach to preparing our infrastructure and public services. That means a national Heat Resilience Strategy, led from the Cabinet Office with clear ministerial accountability, so that hospitals, care homes, housing and transport are ready before the next heatwave.
“Every one of those people lost was someone’s mother, father, partner or friend, and they deserve better than continued inaction.”
ENDS
