Personal protective equipment and heat: risk of heat stress
Summary
The Building Safety Regulator has issued an urgent heat-stress warning for health and care settings, highlighting the increased risk when staff wear PPE in very hot conditions. It advises employers to assess overheating risks, improve ventilation and other environmental controls, and ensure staff have adequate breaks, hydration, and PPE supplies.
Why it matters
While aimed at health and care providers, the guidance is relevant to surveyors working in or inspecting occupied buildings where PPE, high temperatures, and poor ventilation may combine to create occupational heat risk. It also reinforces the need to consider workplace temperature, ventilation, and staff welfare when assessing building conditions in hot weather.
Key points
- Red and amber heat-health alerts have been issued for parts of England, alongside a Met Office extreme heat warning.
- Wearing PPE in warm or hot environments increases the risk of heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
- Employers should assess overheating risk and prioritise environmental controls such as reducing heat sources and improving ventilation.
- Staff may need more frequent breaks, more hydration, and increased PPE changes during hot weather.
- Workplaces should ensure alerts are cascaded to frontline staff and that PPE stocks can meet higher demand.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
