The challenge of maintaining continuity in health and social care during extreme weather events

Global climate change presents the crucial and growing challenge of how to ensure continuity of health and social care to meet the specific needs of populations requiring access to services on an ongoing basis due to chronic ill health, disability or social disadvantage. We specifically consider extreme weather events producing conditions under which health and social care systems face special challenges in maintaining continuity of care. The discussion in this chapter draws especially on illustrations from England, an example of a country with a well-developed health and social care system and an ageing population, where governmental agencies and other partners, including academic researchers, are working together to address these issues.