Practical actions: Health facilities
What to do, who acts, what it takes to run, what could stop it, and what it only works with.
Clinics and hospitals fill up in a heatwave just as power, water and staff come under strain. The full cards, with who each protects, where it suits and its evidence, are on the live page.
What to do: Rapid assessment and active cooling of suspected heatstroke, with ice packs, IV fluids, rehydration salts and trained staff.
Who acts: Health authorities, National governments
Running and upkeep: Stocks of ice, fluids and medicines through the season, and training every year.
What could stop it: Supplies that run out at the peak, and staff who have never practised the protocol.
Works only if: Staff train before the season; Ice and fluids are stocked early; Care for heat illness is free.
Evidence: source 1 below.
What to do: Backup or solar power, cooling in waiting and treatment areas, and cool roofs, shading and rainwater harvesting.
Who acts: Health authorities, Utilities and energy regulators, Development banks, donors and climate funds
Running and upkeep: Fuel or battery upkeep, servicing of cooling, and a power company that prioritises the facility.
What could stop it: Backup generators with no fuel budget, and cooling nobody services.
Works only if: The power company knows the facility comes first; Someone services the backup; There is a running budget.
Evidence: source 2 below.
What to do: Cool rest rooms, drinking water, and shorter rotations for staff in full protective gear.
Who acts: Health authorities, Worker organisations and unions
Running and upkeep: Staff time for rotations, and a cooled rest space.
What could stop it: Too few staff to rotate during a surge.
Works only if: Rotas plan for the surge; Staff can report symptoms early.
Evidence: source 3 below.
What to do: Extra beds, staff and supplies that switch on with each alert level, agreed with the weather service and the city.
Who acts: Health authorities, Weather and climate services, City and local governments
Running and upkeep: Planning time before the season, and overtime or reserve staff during alerts.
What could stop it: Warnings that reach the public but not the hospital.
Works only if: Hospitals receive the alert directly; Each level names what the hospital does.
Evidence: source 4 below.
What to do: Shade, seating and drinking water where patients queue, and appointment slots so fewer wait at midday.
Who acts: Health authorities, City and local governments
Running and upkeep: Someone to refill water and keep the space usable. Rough cost: about US$530–US$6,300 per site (₹50,000–₹6 lakh at Indian prices).
What could stop it: Shade built where the queue isn’t.
Works only if: It is where people actually wait; Someone refills the water.
Evidence: source 1 below.
Costs, where shown, are rough Indian planning ranges from the site’s cooling options, not quotes. Every action also needs a named owner and a running budget. Labels next to each title say what kind of evidence the card cites.
Sources
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, press release, 19 June 2024. mohfw.gov.in/press-info/7538
- WHO fact sheet: electricity in health-care facilities, 2023. who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/electricity-in-health-care-facilities
- Yang et al., BMC Nursing, 2024. doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01770-x
- Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972