{"id":45000,"date":"2019-07-05T12:14:51","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T11:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=45000"},"modified":"2019-07-05T12:15:19","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T11:15:19","slug":"the-nhs-must-behave-as-an-environmental-anchor-to-mitigate-the-impacts-of-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/07\/05\/the-nhs-must-behave-as-an-environmental-anchor-to-mitigate-the-impacts-of-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"The NHS must behave as an environmental anchor to mitigate the impacts of climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"standfirst\">The NHS is one of the UK&#8221;s biggest contributors to climate change, and top down reform is too slow, but clinical staff can kick start change, say Nada Al-Hadithy and Katie Knight<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(15)60931-X\/fulltext#\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cClimate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and the defining challenge of our generation. The NHS is the nation\u2019s largest employer. It employs 1.4 million people,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/554753\/Enhancing_the_NHS_through_international_engagement_Digital_version.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and is an internationally celebrated global brand<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The NHS has a procurement budget of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supplychain.nhs.uk\/news\/company\/making-sustainable-cost-improvement\/~\/media\/Files\/News\/US1854%20Three%20Steps%20to%20Sustainable%20Cost%20Improvment%20Briefing%20Paper.ashx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a320 billion per year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and is in a powerful position to be able to take brave and radical steps in role modelling how a massive organisation should be addressing its environmental responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.longtermplan.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/nhs-long-term-plan-june-2019.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NHS Long Term Plan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, was an exciting opportunity for the NHS to lay out its goals for the years to come. However, for all its commendable ambition in other areas, the NHS long term plan only mentions the climate and the environment on the last page of the appendix<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Among the recommendations made were to \u201cphase out\u201d primary heating from oil and gas, to reduce vehicle emissions by 20% by 2024, and to re-state its commitment to reducing the carbon reduction targets set out in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sduhealth.org.uk\/news\/642\/key-sustainability-actions-in-nhs-long-term-plan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2008 Climate Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Too often sustainability in healthcare is bolted onto the strategy rather than embedded in every workstream.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NHS impacts the environment in a multitude of ways. It is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsconfed.org\/resources\/2008\/12\/taking-the-temperature\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">responsible for 5% of all road traffic in the UK<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcplondon.ac.uk\/projects\/outputs\/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Air pollution contributes to an estimated 40,000 deaths each year in the UK and costs the economy an estimated \u00a322 billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014which means that the NHS directly contributes to 2000 deaths from air pollution. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NHS is one of the UK\u2019s most energy intensive organisations, spending more than \u00a3750 million on energy each year (including a \u00a3350 million greenhouse gas fee) and has the largest carbon footprint of any UK organisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Sustainable Development Unit has made great advances in raising the profile of the NHS\u2019 carbon footprint, however\u2014its resources are limited, it is focused on top-down policy change, and it cannot be the only angle from which the NHS addresses its environmental responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For frustrated clinicians, at an individual and trust level, what can be done as a \u201cbottom up\u201d approach? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablehealthcare.org.uk\/blog\/we-work-healthcare-%E2%80%93-course-we-care-about-carbon\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has many strategies for front line staff to reduce the 22.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) that the NHS emits every year. After all, 80% of this is due to clinical decisions and models of care. Which gives us even greater impetus to demand better procurement and more environmentally friendly clinical pathways. Examples include <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/networks.sustainablehealthcare.org.uk\/network\/psych-susnet\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">psych susnet<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/renal.org\/about-the-renal-association\/green-nephrology\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">green nephrology<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aagbi.org\/about-us\/environment\/what-can-you-do-reduce-environmental-impact-anaesthesia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sustainable anaesthesia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and sustainable respiratory care. For example,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablehealthcare.org.uk\/what-we-do\/sustainable-specialties\/respiratory-care\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">metered dose inhalers (MDIs) account for 5% of the total NHS carbon emissions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and have estimated carbon footprints of 500g CO2e per dose, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nice.org.uk\/news\/article\/nice-encourages-use-of-greener-asthma-inhalers\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">compared to 20g in dry powder inhalers (DPIs).<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Following the Montreal protocol banning the use of CFC gases in 1987, many countries moved directly to dry powder inhalers while in the UK we still prescribe mainly MDIs. By counselling our patients appropriately, we can reduce the carbon footprint of one of the UK\u2019s biggest polluters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NHS long term plan also stated an aim for local NHS organisations to become &#8220;anchor institutions&#8221; within their communities\u2014organisations which have economic, social and human resources that can be used for the benefit of local people. So, how might an NHS institution behave as an environmental anchor?<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some examples include<\/span><b>, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4\/fulltext\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">politely requesting serving planetary diets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> exclusively in all NHS institutions, removing\u00a0 polystyrene and plastic cutlery while encouraging staff to bring in their own containers to the canteen, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/iquitplastics.com\/blog\/how-to-start-a-mug-library\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">boomerang cup schemes for all coffee outlets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and promoting carbon literacy and environmentally friendly actions\u2014<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/carbonliteracy.com\/the-carbon-cost-of-an-email\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">such as deleting junk mail to reduce your carbon footprint by 50g CO2e per email<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. These are some of the quick ways to make a big difference and hopefully will spread within the communities in which the NHS anchors preside. Using NHS sites for local produce schemes and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nhsforest.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">engaging with local communities to create an NHS forest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> could improve clinical care and staff wellbeing. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk\/about-us\/environment-and-sustainability_working-together_green-champions.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Clinicians could arrange a meeting with the trust\u2019s sustainability champion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and see how individuals can improve procurement, reduce costs, and save the planet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NHS is one of the UK\u2019s proudest achievements and shouldn\u2019t we deliver excellence in everything we do? Given the climate emergencies being declared around the world, health professionals, and the NHS more specifically, have a vital part to play in tackling the health impacts of climate change. Together we could turn the world\u2019s greatest threat into the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(15)60931-X\/fulltext\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/07\/Nada-Al-Hadithy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-45002\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/07\/Nada-Al-Hadithy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"186\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Nada Al- Hadithy<\/strong><\/em> is a National Medical Director&#8217;s Clinical Leadership Fellow<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Twitter<\/strong><b><i>: <\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HadithyNada\">@hadithynada<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Competing interests:\u00a0<\/i><\/b><i>None declared<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/KKpic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-44858\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/KKpic-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/KKpic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/KKpic.jpg 442w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Katie Knight<\/b>\u00a0is a p<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">aediatric emergency medicine registrar, National Medical Director&#8217;s Clinical Fellow at Health Education England, and Founder\/Lead Editor, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.paediatricfoam.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">paediatricFOAM.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Competing interests<\/strong>: None declared<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NHS is one of the UK&#8221;s biggest contributors to climate change, and top down reform is too slow, but clinical staff can kick start change, say Nada Al-Hadithy and [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/07\/05\/the-nhs-must-behave-as-an-environmental-anchor-to-mitigate-the-impacts-of-climate-change\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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