Heatwave, Ministry of Health circular: dedicated access to A&E departments and focus on major events

From alerts regarding major events to triage procedures in A&E departments, and including a new system for monitoring access to local mental health services: the Ministry of Health has issued a circular to mitigate the effects of the heatwave that has hit Italia. The circular had been announced earlier this morning, following a meeting of the inter-institutional steering committee set up as part of the National Operational Plan for the Forecasting and Prevention of the Effects of Heat.

Due to the emergency situation caused by the extreme temperatures recorded in recent days, the Ministry of Health recommends that A&E departments set up a dedicated triage system to ensure ‘prompt treatment for heat-related illnesses, dehydration and heatstroke, whilst avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions, in order to protect vulnerable groups (the elderly, children, patients with chronic conditions and those facing social vulnerability)”.

The circular also calls on the Regions to provide as much support as possible to the surveillance programmes already in place. With regard to the A&E admissions surveillance system, it is recommended that at least one A&E department be identified and reported to the Lazio Regional Department for each of the cities covered by the alert system, namely Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Catania, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Messina, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Trieste, Venice, Verona and Viterbo.

The Ministry also recommends paying close attention to major events. At mass gatherings such as concerts, for example, there will need to be ‘adequate coordination with the relevant authorities to ensure the implementation of measures to protect participants and prevent the potential health effects of the heat, with particular regard to hydration and organisational measures’.

In addition, the circular announces a pilot scheme in 2026 to monitor access to local mental health services in a number of sentinel facilities. The Ministry’s objective – which calls on the Regions to identify and nominate facilities that could be included in the project – is ‘to improve knowledge and prevention measures targeted at subgroups at highest risk’.