Rise in hospital admissions for heat and sunstroke over summer

There were more than four times as many hospital admissions for heat, sunstroke and related issues in July compared to the same month last year, new data shows.

Between April and July, heat-related hospital admissions also went up by nearly a third overall in comparison to the same period in 2017, as temperatures soared across the country.

Figures released by NHS Digital show in July alone there were 259 heat or sunlight-related hospital finished admission episodes in England, compared to just 59 a year earlier.

From April to the end of July there were 598 admissions, while there were 407 during the same period in 2017.

This summer was the warmest on record in England, with a number of deaths also thought to have been caused by the heatwave.

NHS Digital said the 2018 figures are provisional, so could rise further still. Data for August is not yet available.

The statistics relate to England and cover the subdivisions of treatment where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of the following:

• Heat/sunstroke

• Heat/sunstroke due to exposure to excessive natural heat

• Heat/sunstroke due to exposure to sunlight

• Exposure to excessive natural heat (excluding diagnoses of heat/sunstroke)

• Exposure to sunlight with no diagnosis of heat/sunstroke.

Hospital admissions are not a count of patients, as the same person may have been admitted on one or more occasion.