Hospital admissions rise as heatwave continues

Belfast City Hospital has reported a sharp rise in admissions of dehydrated elderly people and sunburnt children and adults, as Northern Ireland's heatwave continues.

Owen Ferry, Registrar at the hospital's emergency department, warned that people in the province were not used to such heat, and that the typical case consisted of younger people with sometimes extensive sunburn to the face, arms and legs.

However, the good news is that the hospital has seen fewer cases than in previous years, suggesting that messages regarding safety in the sun have got through. Dr Ferry said: "There are more and more people heeding the advice that is being given out and we are probably not seeing the higher numbers we have seen in previous years."

He added that as the hot spell is set to continue for some days, the most important thing for people to remember is to stay out of direct sunlight for the warmest part of the day, as it can take as little as 10-15 minutes for sunlight to burn the skin.

Wednesday's weather is on course to be hot and dry, with cooler temperatures along the coast, and with thundery showers predicted for some areas in the evening.

(CL)