UK heatwave: Hospitals see worrying rise in child sunburn cases
Britain's hospitals have reported a rise in severe sunburn cases among children during the UK heatwave.
Two thirds of 14 hospitals with specialist burns units contacted by Sky News said they had seen a worrying rise in admissions.
On Thursday, a four-week old boy was admitted to Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.
According to This is Sussex, ten children have been admitted to the hospital during the hot weather.
The youngest of the ten patients at the hospital was four weeks old, while the oldest was 14 years old.
Two of the ten children needed treatment for heatstroke and all of them were from South East England, from West Sussex to Kent.
Consultant plastic surgeon Nora Nugent at Queen Victoria Hospital said: "No parent or carer intends for their child to get sunburnt and accidents do happen.
"But spending just a couple of minutes applying sunscreen to a child before they go out in the sun is the difference between a summer of fun and a summer spoilt by sunburn.
"The sun at this time of year is very strong and children can get burnt very quickly. The children we've treated over the last few weeks have been referred to our unit because their burns have been so severe they have required specialist treatment.
Doctors have also warned of fatal consequences and Dr David Lloyd told Sky News: "We know that children who burn their skin when they are under the age of 12 are much more likely to end up with skin cancer later on in their lives."
Injuries that have been reported by adults in the heatwave include amputated toes due to gardening accidents and people hurt in falls.
Speaking to the BBC, chief medical officer Dr Ruth Hussey urged caution before visiting A&E as medics are facing increased pressure.
Forecasters have predicted the weather next week could be even hotter, with temperatures reaching up to 33C in some parts of the Southern England.
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