Climate change and the resulting increase in the number and intensity of heatwaves experienced in the UK are having a profound effect on the mortality rates of nursing and care home residents, a new study finds.
Heat-related deaths in social care in England: can the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings system be used to identify care homes that would benefit most from heat adaptation measures?, published in Age and Ageing – the international clinical geriatrics journal from the British Geriatrics Society, studied excess mortality data from the heatwave of 16-20 July 2022 and associations between temperature and death of care home residents from 2022-2024. The study found that deaths in care and nursing homes increased during heatwaves, and saw a correlation between facilities with poorer CQC ratings and a higher risk of heat-related death.
The study shows that during the July 2022 heatwave, nursing home deaths increased by 34.1% and residential care home deaths increased by 13.0%, compared to the same time period in the non-heatwave years. In the period between 2022 and 2024, the relative risk of death on a day of 25°C compared to a day of 16°C more than doubled among nursing home residents and was over 50% higher in residential care homes.
The findings of this study starkly illustrate that heat needs to be taken seriously as a risk factor for care and nursing home residents, and for wide-scale improvements in heat management to urgently take place. Most residential facilities were built to stay warm in winter, but further measures are needed to protect residents from the dangers of heat in the summer.
Our population is ageing, and the need for appropriate care and nursing homes will only increase as a result. Without prompt action, we will likely see many more avoidable deaths in the years to come. Read the study here.