More than 100 people across Wales were waiting for an ambulance on Tuesday as the NHS was hit with added pressure caused by the heatwave. The Welsh Ambulance Service said it had seen demand increase from patients with heat-related illnesses, and health boards said their emergency departments in particular were extremely busy and advised people to only call 999 in the most urgent situations.
On Monday Wales experienced its hottest ever day, with Hawarden, Flintshire, recording a top temperature of 37.1C - beating a previous high of 35.2C in the same place in 1990. On Tuesday London Heathrow reported a temperature of 40.2°C - the highest ever recorded in the UK.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that this very hot weather has the potential to cause a spike in hospital admissions for dehydration, overheating, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. On top of this, doctors and nurses are also having to deal with an unwanted increase in hospital admissions for Covid-19 while also attempting to reduce the backlog of non-urgent cases.
