Thirty Degrees in the Ward

Temperatures in some patient rooms at the Luxembourg Hospital Centre (CHL) exceeded 30°C during the heatwave. At the children's hospital, cooling ceilings were not enough: rooms reached 28°C. Dr Martine Goergen, the hospital director, said the situation had been managed without major problems. No excess mortality. No surge of heat-related deaths. Staff absences were not a major issue. The hospital coped.[1]

"Coped" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The hospital coped with 30°C in patient rooms by buying fans for every room and relying on staff volunteering for extra shifts. The emergency department was busy. The hospital was busy. But they coped.[1]

15 units, 60 needed

The Health Directorate recently purchased 15 air-conditioning units for hospitals across the country. One has been installed in the waiting area of the emergency department at the children's hospital. The CHL estimates it needs at least 60. The 15 it received have been distributed as a priority to departments where temperatures were highest, often on upper floors, and to areas such as chemotherapy wards, where vulnerable patients are treated.[1]

15 out of 60. A quarter of what is needed. The rest of the hospital will continue to cope with fans and open windows and the hope that the next heatwave does not coincide with a staffing shortage.[1]

2029

The CHL is due to move into a new building in 2029. The new premises will be better insulated. Windows have been designed to reduce direct sunlight. Each room will have a cooling ceiling designed to cope with temperatures of up to 35°C. The old building cannot be fully air-conditioned: condensation and mould would follow. So the hospital waits for 2029, three years from now, with a quarter of the air-conditioning units it needs.[1]

Heatwaves are becoming increasingly frequent. The Health Directorate and the hospitals are looking at how to better protect patients and staff. They are looking. The 60 air-conditioning units have not been purchased. The new building has not been built. The heatwave is here now.[1]

The cascade reaches healthcare

The heatwave has now reached the hospital ward. It started in classrooms at 35°C. It moved through railway signals, water restrictions, blue-green algae, forest fires, record-low rivers, dying corn, and a fire department warning of extremely high risk. And now it is in the rooms where people are being treated for the effects of the heat itself. 30°C in a patient room is not a temperature. It is a condition. For someone recovering from surgery, for a child in a chemotherapy ward, for an elderly patient on the upper floor, 30°C is not coping. It is endurance.[1]

The hospital coped. The hospital needs 60 air-conditioning units and has 15. The new building comes in 2029. The heatwave comes now.[1]