Lack of air con in island facilities 'thoughtless'
BBCA Jersey resident says there should be more consideration of patients and healthcare staff during heatwaves.
Mary Young, an outpatient in the Enid Quenault Health Centre during the June heatwave, said it was "thoughtless" not to have air conditioning.
Health Minister Senator Tom Binet said it was difficult to cool the building because it had been converted from a school before opening in 2023. He said the problems would be "over" when new health facilities opened.
It comes as school students and staff also struggled, with the National Education Union calling for better ventilation and air conditioning. Education Minister Deputy Catherine Curtis said excessive heat was an "immediate priority".
Young had her appointment rescheduled to avoid the peak of the heat, but said it was bad for patients, as well as staff "trying to make life and death decisions".
The Enid Quenault Health Centre was formerly Les Quennevais School, and Young said air conditioning should have been installed when the building was refitted before opening in 2023.
"We know global warming is going to give us more and more of these long hot spells in the summer. Why didn't they think of that?"
Binet said the ceiling heights restricted a full cooling system, but plug-in units could be used.
Meanwhile, at the hospital - a much older building - air conditioning in some operating theatres failed in the May heatwave, which affected 83 patients with routine procedures.
Responding to a petition calling for more air conditioning there, medical director Simon West said portable units had been installed.
But he said the "ageing" facilities limited how much electrical equipment could be safely used at once.
Young said that was not an excuse at the Enid Quenault Health Centre.
Binet reiterated that new health facilities, including a rebuild of outpatient facilities, would be "state of the art".
A contract with a construction firm to build a new acute hospital was signed earlier this year.
How did schools cope with hot weather?
School students and staff also struggled in recent heatwaves, with some closing early.
Mark Brignall, from the National Education Union, said closing schools was the last thing teachers wanted to do, but a survey revealed some classrooms had reached 42C (108F).
He said there should be better ventilation, air conditioning and a more uniform approach.
"What do you do for the safety of students that maybe can't go home?"
He said there could be central hubs where those pupils could study if their school was unsuitable because of the weather.
The new education minister told the States Assembly that excessive heat in schools was an "immediate priority".
Curtis said she favoured a "centralised action plan" so schools could manage issues without disrupting education.
She added it was the responsibility of the department to bring forward a strategy to deal with increased hot weather.
Infrastructure minister Deputy Jonathan Renouf said he wanted to speak with Curtis about the approach.
"The infrastructure we have, like buildings, schools, hospitals and so on, were built for a climate that no longer exists and it's only going to get more extreme," he said.
"I think the schools have done a remarkably good job to cope with the heat.
"It is about mitigation and adaptation. There's no immediate one-click solution."
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