Stay safe and well this summer

As the weather heats up this week, health experts across the county are advising people to stay safe and well during the hot spell.

Shropshire’s Council’s Stay Safe and Well this Summer webpages offers a host of advice for people young and old, to help keep cool and hydrated throughout the hot weather.  The website also provides advice and information on home and personal safety, and signposts people to other summer-related advice including:

• Summer health – NHS advice on how to stay well throughout the summer months
• Heatwave advice – advice to ensure the hot weather doesn’t harm you or anyone you know
• Insect bites and stings – tips and advice on what do if you’re stung or bitten by an insect
• Skin care – advice on being ‘sun smart’ and help reduce the risk of skin cancer
• Personal and home safety – advice to help reduce the risk of summer crime
• Leisure safety –  information and advice on camping, fireworks and water safety.

Other information includes, travel and festival advice, information for practioners who support vulnerable people, as well as ‘What’s on’ during the summer months.

The call out follows Public Health England’s (PHE) Heatwave Plan update, advising people to keep safe in the sun, seek shade to cool down and keep hydrated with plenty of cool fluids. PHE top advice for being sun safe:

• try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm
• wear UV sunglasses, preferably wraparound, to reduce UV exposure to the eyes, walk in the shade, apply sunscreen of at least SPF15 with UVA protection, wear a hat and light scarf. Wear light, loose-fitting cotton clothes. This should minimise the risk of sunburn.
• drink lots of cool drinks and when travelling ensure you take water with you
• look out for others, especially vulnerable groups such as older people, young children and babies, and those with serious illnesses
• never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially older people, infants, young children or animals.

Remember that it can get uncomfortably hot indoors too. Try to keep your bedroom and living space cool, by closing the curtains on windows that face the sun and opening your windows at cooler times of the day and overnight when you can. Turn off non-essential lights and electrical items as these generate heat.

Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, and chair of Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board, added:

“Heatwaves can be dangerous, especially for the very young or very old, or those with chronic disease. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can both be very serious if they are not treated quickly. With temperatures forecast to possibly exceed to 30 degrees centigrade this week, we strongly advise residents to look after each other in this hot weather.”

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adults, added:

“Everyone can enjoy the sun safely by keeping out of the heat at the hottest time of the day, avoiding sunburn and staying hydrated with plenty of cool drinks. Older people and those with long-term illnesses are particularly vulnerable to the effects of very hot weather, so it’s important to look out for them and keep indoor areas as cool as possible.

“As well as urging people to take heed of our advice, if you know of anyone who is particularly vulnerable, maybe an elderly person living on their own, why not pop round to check if they are OK?”

Advice on how to reduce the risk either for yourself or somebody you know can be obtained from NHS Choices at www.nhs.uk/summerhealth, NHS 111 or from your local pharmacy.

For more information on staying safe and well this summer, visit Shropshire Council’s Stay Safe and Well this Summer at https://shropshire.gov.uk/stay-safe-and-well-this-summer/

Further information

Shropshire may experience ‘heatwave’ conditions over the next few days, according to Met Office forecasts.

Warnings that a heatwave may be imminent are triggered when the Met Office forecasts that there is a 60% chance of temperatures being high enough on at least two consecutive days and the intervening night to have a significant effect on health.

This will normally happen two or three days before a heatwave is expected to occur. This is a critical stage to ensure readiness and swift action to reduce harm from a potential heatwave. During hot spells vulnerable groups, such as the older people, feel the acute effects of heat more than others and it’s long been recognised that death rates rise in the early stages of heatwaves.

Councils, professionals and community groups can prepare for hot weather by reviewing the Heatwave Plan for England on the PHE website.

The Heatwave Plan is an important component of overall emergency planning and sets out a series of clear actions that can be taken by healthcare organisations, local authorities, professionals working with vulnerable people, and individuals to help keep people safe during extreme heat.

See the Heatwave Plan for England for more information.