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Heatwave: supporting vulnerable people before and during a heatwave - advice for health and social care professionals

This factsheet is part of a national programme to reduce the health risks by alerting people to the dangers and encouraging them to plan in advance what to do in the event of a heatwave. Heatwaves can happen with little warning and illness and death can occur within the first couple of days; so it is best to make the following preparations before high temperatures are forecast. Ideally, these should be complete before the beginning of June.

You should be reading this, and are urged to act on it, if you work, whether as an individual, or as part of a team, in primary care or social services, or are a home care provider. It offers advice both on caring for people most at risk during a heatwave, and on organising others who provide care.

• Download Advice for health and social care professionals (2008) (PDF, 96K)