Belgium had more excess deaths due to heat waves this summer than any other country in Europe, with politicians under pressure to come up with a solid heat plan for the future
Belgian health institute Sciensano has released figures for the number of deaths this summer. There were 2,935 more deaths than during previous summers, an increase the institute attributes to the heat waves.
Most of the excess deaths occurred during the first heat wave, from 18 June to 3 July. During the period, 2,035 more people died than during the same period in previous years, an increase of 49%. The deadliest day was 27 June, when 641 people died in Belgium due to extreme heat.
During heat waves, people can get heat stroke, when the body’s temperature regulation fails and the core temperature rises, causing organs to malfunction. People suffering from being overheated can also experience cardiovascular collapse, when the body sends more blood to the skin to cool itself, triggering heart attacks.
“A case study into what went wrong”
According to the European Mortality Monitoring Network (Euromomo), nowhere in Europe had as many excess deaths as in Belgium. A New York Times headline read: Heat Deaths in a ‘Cold’ Country Are a Warning to the Rest of Europe. The article went on to say that Belgium showed “a lethal lack of readiness” and was “a case study into what went wrong.”
Healthcare workers and journalists insist that the government has not done enough as politicians scramble to develop measures to prevent a repeat of this situation next summer. At the beginning of July, experts and representatives of the competent government services met within the Risk Management Group (RMG). The group identified several shortcomings and put forward a number of recommendations.
Among other things, it called for an evaluation of communication and coordination, including cooperation between the different levels of government. Various healthcare stakeholders wrote an open letter to policymakers about poor communication and the limited accessibility of the emergency dispatch centres. They reported waiting times of 10 minutes or more when calling 112 during the deadliest weekend of the heatwave.
According to Flemish health minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit), the implementation of the existing heat plan in Flanders did proceed well. “The evaluation confirms that the ozone and heat plan was activated correctly and in a timely manner.”
However, shortcomings were also identified at the policy level. For example, regions must focus on making hospital infrastructure more resilient to heat. It is clear that the striking lack of air conditioning or other cooling facilities is a problem.
Lacking cohesive plan
More generally, it has been assessed that regions, together with local authorities, must do a better job of ensuring that cool spaces are available in public buildings, vacant buildings or elsewhere. These locations should be mapped, and coordination should be established to ensure that vulnerable target groups know where to go.
Changes are also needed at the workplace level: protective measures should be stricter for people working in sectors such as construction or public works.
“As far as I am concerned, this is high on the political agenda,” said federal health minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit). He particularly emphasized the need for a new heat plan. “At present, this is mainly a phase-based and communication plan. It still lacks sufficient elements of a fully fledged preparedness plan, with pre-established measures, clearly defined responsibilities, capacity planning and operational procedures for all sectors involved.”