Overview
- During a late‑June heatwave a Stuttgart hospital treated around 160 patients for heat illnesses over one weekend and reported one death as emergency teams worked nonstop to cool people.
- Medical staff resorted to improvised methods such as filling body bags with ice, using wet towels and fans, and raiding research‑unit ice supplies when standard cooling ran out.
- The Robert‑Bosch‑Krankenhaus immediately bought 20 mobile air conditioners, added an extra ice machine and compiled lists of cooled rooms while introducing a formal heat plan and remote work for non‑clinical staff.
- Regional hospital leaders say many wards in Germany lack air conditioning because buildings from the 1960s–1980s were not built for today's temperatures and some facilities had to use fire‑department fans or convene crisis teams.
- Health bodies call for a dedicated investment program estimated at about €30–31 billion for climate‑resilient hospitals and policymakers say money exists but decisions are needed on prioritization and program design.