\n The announcement follows this week\u2019s amber and red heat-health alerts, with the NHS warning that the extreme weather is affecting hospitals, ambulance services, and other healthcare providers across the region.\n<\/p>\n
\n On the Island, the ambulance service is experiencing increased demand, with residents urged to only call 999 in life-threatening emergencies and to consider alternative NHS services for less serious conditions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Islanders waiting for an ambulance are also being asked not to call back unless the patient’s condition changes.\n<\/p>\n
\n St Mary’s Hospital in Newport (Image: IWCP)\n<\/p>\n
\n The IW Ambulance Service is among those reporting increased call volumes, while the nearby Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, University Hospitals Southampton NHS Trust, and South Central Ambulance Service have also declared critical incidents.\n<\/p>\n
\n Health leaders say the extreme heat is creating challenges affecting buildings, infrastructure, equipment, and services across the healthcare system.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dr Charlotte Hutchings, GP and deputy chief medical officer for NHS Hampshire and IW, said: “During periods of extreme heat, we can see an increase in people becoming unwell due to dehydration and overheating.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This can happen quickly, particularly for older people, young children, people with long-term conditions, and those taking certain medicines.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Planning ahead is important \u2013 keep fluids nearby, try to stay cool, avoid being outside during the hottest parts of the day where possible, and check in on anyone who may need extra help.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The NHS is also reminding Islanders to store medicines correctly, as some can be affected by high temperatures.\n<\/p>\n
\n People with planned NHS appointments should continue to attend unless they are contacted directly and advised otherwise.\n<\/p>\n
\n Families and carers are also being asked to collect relatives from St Mary\u2019s Hospital as soon as they are medically fit for discharge to help free up beds during the period of increased demand.\n<\/p>\n
\n For non-life-threatening conditions, Islanders are being encouraged to contact their GP, visit a local pharmacy, use NHS 111 online or by phone, or attend an Urgent Treatment Centre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The announcement follows this week\u2019s amber and red heat-health alerts, with the NHS warning that the extreme weather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-660046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}