Following one of the mildest few weeks of November in history, the UK has been hit by a sudden cold snap this week.
Multiple Met Office Yellow National Severe Weather Warnings for ice and snow have been issued for the coming days, covering Northern Ireland, parts of Wales, northern and southwest parts of England and much of Scotland.
Met Office Chief Forecaster, Neil Armstrong, even forecasted that temperatures in Scotland will get as low as -11°C.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber Cold-Health Alert (CHA) for the Yorkshire & Humber, North West and North East regions of England, with the rest of the country on a yellow warning.
Under the Weather Health Alerting system introduced by UKHSA and the Met Office, an amber Cold-Health Alert means that cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time, with potential for the whole population to be at risk and where other sectors may also start to observe impacts, indicating a coordinated response is required.
There’s no doubt NHS staff will be approaching their limits this winter
Extreme cold weather increases demand for the NHS’s services due to more respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, as well as strokes and heart attacks, a rise in accidental injuries from slips and falls, and a greater risk of death for vulnerable groups. The UKHSA highlights such groups as those over 65 and those sleeping rough.
Specifically, cold weather can impact A&E attendances and hospital admissions. Both infrastructure and staffing requirements need to be met in order to be able to handle these scenarios. The number of beds and staffing needs to be sufficient.
The sudden nature of the turn in the weather could also worsen these impacts, as people are caught by surprise given recent milder conditions.
As such, it is important that the healthcare system is built to continue to function under these circumstances.
It is important to have a heating system that is prepared and efficient. In May this year, the UK Government pledged over £630m for energy efficiency upgrades in public buildings, including NHS sites, highlighting this importance.
Increased emergency use can also have a detrimental impact on waiting lists.
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS National Medical Director, said: “It is fantastic news that the health service managed to get the waiting list down in September, but there’s no doubt NHS staff will be approaching their limits this winter.”
Pandit explained that this is particularly concerning as the flu is peaking early and looking to be a “long-lasting season”. A BMJ article published in the last week even predicted that this 2025-2026 flu season is going to be “one of the toughest ever winters in its history”.
This worry surrounds a particularly concerning new H3N2 strain.
On top of this, the ongoing industrial action from recent weeks has also put additional pressure on the healthcare system.
Pandit’s advice to the public for this cold weather and increased healthcare pressure was to ensure vaccinations are up to date and to make use of 111.
Top image: This image is AI generated