2024-08-02 09:07:39
“Hotlines from the medical association’s patient ombudsman showed temperatures reaching 30 degrees or more in various Vienna hospitals, underscoring the problem of extreme heat that must not be ignored. The city government must immediately ensure that hospitals take cooling measures,” Vienna Green Party health spokesperson Barbara Huemer commented in the latest press release from the Medical Association. “Thermal protection in Vienna hospitals needs to be improved rapidly,” said Huemer.
Vienna’s hot summers often see high temperatures above 30 degrees. However, traditional air conditioning systems cannot control the problem in hospitals because they can spread viruses, which poses a huge danger to sick and immunocompromised people.
The Vienna Green Party therefore proposes, as a short-term measure, the establishment of cooling zones in hospitals. “There must be separate rooms where staff can at least temporarily cool down,” Schumer demanded, and continued: “Heat-stressed staff cannot take refuge in a fully air-conditioned operating room. In addition, hot spots should be isolated.” Set up in the identified hospital and take immediate cooling measures locally.
Comprehensive cooling plan overdue
Heat poses a growing threat to health every year. “Sick and injured people cannot and will have to endure the stifling heat of hospital wards,” Huemer said. So there is an immediate need for a clear plan to cool hospitals and continue to do so for decades to come. Especially with the multi-billion dollar renovation and refurbishment of the Vienna Health Association Hospital, investments must also be made in better thermal protection.
It is long past time for the city government to take this issue seriously and develop appropriate measures. “Just as we have to adapt our city planning to the annual heat record, so too must Vienna’s hospitals do the same. It’s time to come up with a comprehensive cooling plan for our city’s hospitals. It also involves thermal retrofit measures, better building insulation and Sun shading and greening of the hospital area,” concludes Schumer.
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