THERMO-CARE
Cost-effective interventions to improve heat resilience of healthcare staff in hospitals
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves in the UK, creating critical challenges for NHS hospitals that largely lack adequate cooling infrastructure.
Overheating in hospitals has risen by 50% in the past five years, with significant consequences for healthcare staff health, wellbeing, and performance, as well as for patient safety. Current mitigation approaches—such as localised air conditioning, shading, or personal cooling—remain under-evaluated, while the implementation of national guidance (e.g., UKHSA’s Adverse Weather and Health Plan) is inconsistent due to insufficient evidence on system impacts and cost-effectiveness.
Addressing these gaps, THERMO-CARE is an NIHR-funded development award that aims to co-design and evaluate sustainable, user-centred interventions to strengthen the heat resilience of healthcare staff across diverse NHS settings.
Overheating in hospitals has risen by 50% in the past five years, with significant consequences for healthcare staff health, wellbeing, and performance, as well as for patient safety. Current mitigation approaches—such as localised air conditioning, shading, or personal cooling—remain under-evaluated, while the implementation of national guidance (e.g., UKHSA’s Adverse Weather and Health Plan) is inconsistent due to insufficient evidence on system impacts and cost-effectiveness.
Addressing these gaps, THERMO-CARE is an NIHR-funded development award that aims to co-design and evaluate sustainable, user-centred interventions to strengthen the heat resilience of healthcare staff across diverse NHS settings.
Plain project summary
THE PROBLEM
Summers in the UK are getting hotter because of climate change. This means heatwaves (very hot days) are happening more often. Many NHS hospitals get too hot during these times because the buildings are old and not made for hot weather. As a result, in the last 5 years there has been a 50% increase in incidents involving parts of NHS hospitals getting too hot. Working in this heat can make healthcare staff like nurses feel tired, unwell, and stressed. This can make it harder for them to care for patients safely. Some people feel the heat more than others — like older people, women (especially if they are pregnant or going through menopause), and people with health conditions. Right now, there is not enough information about what works to keep healthcare staff cool, safe, and able to do their jobs well.
Summers in the UK are getting hotter because of climate change. This means heatwaves (very hot days) are happening more often. Many NHS hospitals get too hot during these times because the buildings are old and not made for hot weather. As a result, in the last 5 years there has been a 50% increase in incidents involving parts of NHS hospitals getting too hot. Working in this heat can make healthcare staff like nurses feel tired, unwell, and stressed. This can make it harder for them to care for patients safely. Some people feel the heat more than others — like older people, women (especially if they are pregnant or going through menopause), and people with health conditions. Right now, there is not enough information about what works to keep healthcare staff cool, safe, and able to do their jobs well.
OUR APPROACH
The THERMO-CARE project wants to find better ways to protect NHS healthcare staff from heat. We will look at simple, safe, and low-cost ideas to help staff feel better and work safely during hot weather — without needing to use lots of electricity or air conditioning. In this early stage of the project, we will:
• Check how ready some hospitals are for heatwaves
• Talk to healthcare staff about what help they need during very hot days
• Explore how things that we know work well (like cooling the face, drinking water stations, changing shift times or using fans) can be used during hot days
• Look at how we can adapt these ideas to help all healthcare staff, considering their age, gender, and health
• Plan how we can test which ideas work best and how much they cost
UK HOSPITAL SETTINGS
We are starting this work in hospitals in the Wessex area (south of England) and will later include hospitals in other places like East Anglia, Derby, Surrey, and Warwick. This will help us learn what works in different kinds of hospitals and for all kinds of healthcare staff. NHS staff and patients have already helped us with ideas for this project. We will keep working closely with them to make sure the research matches what people really need and use in hospitals. In the future, this research will help the NHS get ready for hotter weather, keep staff safe and well, and make sure patients still get the care they need — even during a heatwave.
The THERMO-CARE project wants to find better ways to protect NHS healthcare staff from heat. We will look at simple, safe, and low-cost ideas to help staff feel better and work safely during hot weather — without needing to use lots of electricity or air conditioning. In this early stage of the project, we will:
• Check how ready some hospitals are for heatwaves
• Talk to healthcare staff about what help they need during very hot days
• Explore how things that we know work well (like cooling the face, drinking water stations, changing shift times or using fans) can be used during hot days
• Look at how we can adapt these ideas to help all healthcare staff, considering their age, gender, and health
• Plan how we can test which ideas work best and how much they cost
UK HOSPITAL SETTINGS
We are starting this work in hospitals in the Wessex area (south of England) and will later include hospitals in other places like East Anglia, Derby, Surrey, and Warwick. This will help us learn what works in different kinds of hospitals and for all kinds of healthcare staff. NHS staff and patients have already helped us with ideas for this project. We will keep working closely with them to make sure the research matches what people really need and use in hospitals. In the future, this research will help the NHS get ready for hotter weather, keep staff safe and well, and make sure patients still get the care they need — even during a heatwave.
Our multidisciplinary team
THERMO-CARE is underppined by a unique multi-disciplinary team with expertise in thermal physiology; healthcare human factors and behaviour change; building physics; environmental public health; implementation science; health economics; climate adaptation and policy; from various regions of England (i.e. Wessex, East Anglia, Derby, Surrey & Warwick).
The team has been strategically assembled by Principle Investigator Prof. Davide Filingeri across academia, the secondary care sector (e.g. University Hospital Southampton) and government (e.g. UK Health Security Agency).
Click on each photo below to learn more about each of our investigators.
The team has been strategically assembled by Principle Investigator Prof. Davide Filingeri across academia, the secondary care sector (e.g. University Hospital Southampton) and government (e.g. UK Health Security Agency).
Click on each photo below to learn more about each of our investigators.
Project objectives
The THERMO-CARE development phase has five objectives (see Flow Chart below for a schematic):
1. Consolidate and expand NHS, academic, local authority (i.e. leading community heat protection) and national government partnerships, through joint planning activities across regions (i.e. Wessex, East Anglia, Derby, Surrey & Warwick)
2. Pilot heatwave readiness assessments across NHS hospitals in Wessex, including University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, using AcciMap and Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety frameworks
3. Co-design initial programme theories for priority cooling and equitable staff interventions using climate-relevant frameworks (e.g. Tandem), considering individual variability in heat stress tolerance based on age, sex, hormonal status (e.g. menopause, pregnancy), and pathology (e.g. long-term conditions)
4. Identify candidate outcomes and evaluation methods for cost-effectiveness and environmental impact analysis of healthcare staff- vs. (OR combined with) infrastructure-centred interventions (e.g. personal cooling & passive ventilation)
5. Establish ethical and governance protocols to support full-scale evaluation, and finalise NIHR Research Collaboration application
1. Consolidate and expand NHS, academic, local authority (i.e. leading community heat protection) and national government partnerships, through joint planning activities across regions (i.e. Wessex, East Anglia, Derby, Surrey & Warwick)
2. Pilot heatwave readiness assessments across NHS hospitals in Wessex, including University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, using AcciMap and Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety frameworks
3. Co-design initial programme theories for priority cooling and equitable staff interventions using climate-relevant frameworks (e.g. Tandem), considering individual variability in heat stress tolerance based on age, sex, hormonal status (e.g. menopause, pregnancy), and pathology (e.g. long-term conditions)
4. Identify candidate outcomes and evaluation methods for cost-effectiveness and environmental impact analysis of healthcare staff- vs. (OR combined with) infrastructure-centred interventions (e.g. personal cooling & passive ventilation)
5. Establish ethical and governance protocols to support full-scale evaluation, and finalise NIHR Research Collaboration application
Would you like to engage with THERMO-CARE?
Do you represent:
Then please get in touch with project's lead Prof Davide Filingeri to find ways to join our growing national consortium.
Prof. Davide Filingeri
THERMOSENSELAB
Skin Sensing Research Group
University of Southampton
Clinical Academic Facility | South Academic Block
Southampton General Hospital I SO16 6YD, Southampton, UK
Email: [email protected]
- Hospitals willing to act as THERMO-CARE intervention sites?
- National / regional healthcare system organisations, policy bodies and professional networks who can support scaling, translation and dissemination?
- Academic/research organisations interested in THERMO-CARE?
- Other relevant stakeholder organisations (e.g., patient & public involvement bodies, estates/engineering networks, environmental-health associations)?
- A member of the public who would like to join our focus groups or our Patient and Public Involvment Engagement (PPIE) Panel?
Then please get in touch with project's lead Prof Davide Filingeri to find ways to join our growing national consortium.
Prof. Davide Filingeri
THERMOSENSELAB
Skin Sensing Research Group
University of Southampton
Clinical Academic Facility | South Academic Block
Southampton General Hospital I SO16 6YD, Southampton, UK
Email: [email protected]