Heatstroke may be contributing to hospital overcrowding in Ireland

The HSE said seasonal factors can affect numbers attending hospital emergency departments 'including health complications of heat stress' but that no single factor is driving the summer surge. Stock picture: Alamy

Almost 9,500 people aged 75 or over waited longer than 24 hours to get a hospital bed this year, as climate change-induced heatstroke now becomes a factor that health chiefs must grapple with.

The HSE said seasonal factors can affect numbers, “including health complications of heat stress”, but that no single factor is driving the summer surge that has led to what advocates call “stark” and “hugely concerning” figures from hospital emergency departments so far this year.