Building a Climate-Resilient Health System in the UK

The increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related events pose significant challenges to the UK healthcare system. Extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and shifting disease patterns threaten the health of the population and strain existing and future healthcare resources. This report outlines strategic recommendations to enhance the resilience of the UK healthcare system to climate change, focusing on adapting infrastructure, workforce preparedness, and community engagement.

Climate change is no longer a distant threat but a present-day reality that demands immediate action. The UK is not immune to these challenges. Its impacts are felt across sectors, including healthcare delivery. Adaptation and mitigation are both crucial to tackling climate change. For the NHS, adaptation protects healthcare services during events like heatwaves and floods, while mitigation cuts emissions to meet net-zero goals.

Despite a strong focus on mitigation, adaptation efforts in the health sector have fallen behind—new research commissioned by MedAct showed that almost half (49%) of surveyed healthcare workers said they have experienced NHS services being disrupted by extreme weather over the past five years.[1] Without intervention and investment, it will become increasingly more difficult to protect public health and ensure the NHS remains resilient in the long term.