In view of the increasing number of heat deaths in the summer, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) wants to better protect the elderly.
Hospitals and nursing homes should be converted so that rooms can no longer overheat, he told the editorial network Germany.
He will talk to the countries about this.
But his ministry will also need “a kind of climate budget in order to initiate the necessary adjustments in the health system,” said Spahn.
Spahn explained that there has been excess mortality in the summer due to the heat for several years. In August of last year alone, it is estimated that more than 4,000 people died because of the heat. Temperatures of up to 40 degrees are a major health hazard, especially for older people. "In times of climate change and extremely hot days, health prevention must also include protection against heat."
The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, reacted critically to the initiative.
He said that Spahn wanted to speak to the federal states, showing that the ministerial proposal had no chance of implementation: "Because the federal states themselves are not meeting their basic needs for building and renovation measures." responsible for almost 2000 hospitals.
The patient advocate called on the federal government to solve the inadequate thermal insulation in nursing homes and hospitals itself with a billion-dollar investment program.
Brysch also appealed to the federal states to immediately adapt the building regulations for new buildings and the upcoming renovation of old buildings to effective protection.
Spahn also referred to a new Internet portal of the Federal Center for Health Education with information on the effects of climate change and heat on health, which was activated on Saturday. “Knowledge of the connection between climate change and health must become everyday knowledge,” he emphasized. The online portal is an important step in this direction.