NHS Digital has released figures which show the number of visits to the heat exhaustion section of the NHS website has increased by 525%.
According to NHS Digital, last week (9-15 July) saw 185,184 visitors searching for health advice on heat exhaustion and heatstroke. In comparison, the previous week (2-8 July) had 29,608 visits.
In addition, ahead of this week’s extreme heatwave, the weekend of 16-17 July recorded 86,914 visits – an average of one visit every two seconds.
Shaun Hasney, NHS Digital’s head of digital analytics for the NHS website, said: “We’ve seen a huge increase in visits to the heat exhaustion page over the past week, reaching a peak of over 55,000 visits on Sunday.
“The section was also the second most visited page on the NHS website on Sunday, behind the page on coronavirus self-isolation advice.”
The NHS website has over 4,000 pages containing health information and covers information for around 990 medical conditions. It also provides details on other health services, such as applying for a free UK Global Health Insurance Card, finding a GP, and advice relating to Covid.