Hospitals across Australia will struggle to cope more frequently in the future unless more is done to offset the effects of climate change, a group of seniors doctors argue.

In an opinion paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday, the experts advocate for the entire health system to be made more agile and resilient to meet increasing demand.

One of the authors, Queensland University of Technology public health expert Gerard Fitzgerald, said health systems across Australia were already running close to the line, and did not have enough wiggle-room to deal with increasing problems linked to climate change.

Hospitals are being urged to develop procedures to deal with an increase of patients due to climate change. Credit:Alamy

“Our health system, as everybody knows, is under a fair amount of pressure just from day-to-day activities anyway, “ Dr Fitzgerald said.