It’s 32° in the office

[ivegottogetaway]

On day one of a ten day heatwave.

No AC is available as it’s a hospital and it’s all (rightly) directed to the wards. No more fans, we just have desk fans that blow hot air at us.

It’s set to get hotter and hotter, the building traps heat overnight and there’s barely any breeze.

AIBU to just want to walk out?! It’s awful

No, I was replying to you?

When @Elieza said "did you try the bowl of ice in front of the fan routine yet? worth a try."

You replied to her with "In a hospital? With staff and patients? At work. NO. ALL hospitals in the UK should have AC."

That's why I pointed out that because they don't, the OP did in fact do this.

No idea where to magic ice up from in your average ill equipped workplace...!

Some of our hospital offices are air conditioned so those in non air con offices that have to be on site are encouraged toto work there. It’s hot desks. I’m working from home except one day to make space for essential on site staff.

I have to say, I love this weather… it’s not as humid as the last heat wave, this one is perfect 😍

Ah, I think I missed your subtext - my bad.

As long as the workplace has a freezer, you can just fill a ziplock bag with water and freeze that.

Or two really so you can rotate, but then again it'd have to be a huge freezer if everyone wanted to do it.

Can't speak for the OP but my workplace does not have a freezer. A few fridges with tiny iced up freezer compartments. Maybe I should get my ice pick out.

Gosh, I don’t know why no one thought of that before!

They can’t even afford staff let alone a massive national overhaul of hospital air con! 🤦🏻‍♀️ (Even with air con units it was over 30 deg at midnight on some wards on my last run of nightshifts).

i think i missed the subtext too tbh.

It felt like i was being told i was stupid to suggest such a thing as ice (but thats what i do when desperate so i was just suggesting it in an attempt to be helpful.

i buy my magical ice at sainsburys or make it overnight in any old receptacle in the freezer if it’s not for human consumption.

i know they should have AC.
The OP knows they should have AC.
The entire world knows the should.
But they don’t and i presume the OP just wants ideas?!

neck fan and a frozen insulated water bottle worked a treat in the last wave. Waiting for the emails to go around banning the fans for being an infection risk tho! 😆

I’m sorry op, it’s just ridiculous. It must be awful for you, no one is effective or efficient when it’s that hot so it doesn’t serve the employer either? Madness.
Have you tried the feet in a bowl of cold water with ice trick? My grandma swore by it (she also worked in the NHS). Not ideal at work I know but if you sit down a lot you could get away with it?

Ice is a great idea!

Especially as people saying hospitals 'should' have AC, isn't going to keep anyone cool.

In the absence of AC we need to improvise unfortunately.

No, what the British public "should" expect is AC and demand that net zero is scrapped and investment is made in jobs and infrastructure now to accommodate the weather that is here to stay. Ceiling fans, lights with ceiling fans that don't attract a premium, AC as standard in new builds, retrofitting AC in hospitals, schools, care homes and houses. Improvise is fine for a summer. We're now into what, four, five years of this? People need to catch a wake up and the public needs to demand more from the government and where money is being spent. Ice is not sustainable.

Yeah yeah but none of that will keep anyone cool at work tomorrow.

So ice is a great idea.

😂

IMO putting ice behind a fan works better than putting it in front of it.

Scrap net zero to make sure the summers just keep getting hotter?

For every 1° above 23°, you lose 5% of your productivity, so at 32°, you're losing 45%. Almost half.

The management doesn't care though.

I work in a hospital too and only the boardroom has air con. No one else is important enough.

Oh the irony of this comment…!

Neck fans have just been banned in our trust due to infection control so thats something to bare in mind unfortunately

Either way, it’s not acceptable. Same in my office, OP.

I’m dreading tomorrow. It’ll be awful 😩

I’ve put a foot spa under my desk filled with ice water. Granted it also makes me want to wee, but it’s cooling me down a treat.

Yanbu.

I think hospitals are too hot anyway. I get that the majority of patients are elderly, therefore seemingly require rooms to be heated to roughly the same tenperature as the surface of the sun, but surely the high temps promote bacterial and fungal growth?

Also, surely sleep should be acknowledged as vital for healing? Science has proven you need cool rooms for sleep.

I really feel for nurses and midwives right now.

I feel for everyone, to be honest. Thankfully I’m in an office and not on a ward. But it is stupidly hot! The hot weather email we got yesterday merely suggested putting the air con in a small space to create a “cool space” for patients

I was in a classroom with 30 children and high temperatures . Best best of my day was my hospital appointment. Everywhere I went was ice cold.