Impact of climate change on hospital admissions: a case study of the Royal Berkshire Hospital in the UK

Global warming is projected to have major implications on global health. It is however not yet clear how this will translate to impacts on the healthcare system. By linking changes in temperature with changes in required bed days at a hospital level, through the use of a simple bed model, we quantify the projected impacts UK hospitals will need to adapt to. We show that there is already a local peak of bed days required in the main summer months due to hot temperatures. The results further show that there will be a significant increase during the main summer in both the mean and maximum number of beds needed, but a non-significant decrease during the peak winter months. These changes lead to a more constant need of care of the year and shift the seasonal cycle of lowest hospital needs.