SusQI case study - Royal Cornwall Hospitals Green Team Competition – Clinical Coding Team

Project completed as part of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Green Team Competition February-July 2022 by the Clinical Coding Team

Team members:

• Katie Fairhurst – Clinical Coding Service Manager
• Daniel Whittaker – Deputy Clinical Coding Manager
• Kelsey Currah – Lead Clinical Coder
• Vanessa Bennett – Lead Clinical Coder
• Grace Stearn – Lead Clinical Coder

Project Aims:

1. Going paperless and reducing stationery use

• To reduce paper used in the department to generate carbon and financial savings by a. reducing paper use in clinical coding training materials, and b. eliminating use in Clinical Coding audit, validation and clinician projects.
• To evaluate savings made by reduced office stationery use in changing work practices during the Covid19 pandemic.
• To liaise with RCHT sustainability and procurement teams to investigate more sustainable office stationery options for items continuing to be required.

2. Team education and action including a switch to use of Ecosia search engine

• To enhance colleagues’ knowledge and awareness of the climate emergency and how they can help.
• To encourage the clinical coding team to use a more sustainable search engine, Ecosia.

Results: 

The team achieved an 83% reduction in paper use, 60% reduction in stationary and toner use, and a 100% reduction in envelope use. Total projected savings across two years are £2,776.16 and 1,936.95kg CO2e. This saving is equivalent to driving 5,576.5 miles in an averaged sized car.

There are no negative impacts on patient care. By going paper free for clinical coding audits, validation and work with clinicians, the team feel they are now working in a more effective and efficient way which has led increased productivity in our team.

The teams sustainability posters and quarterly Go Sustainable newsletter have been extremely well received by the team along with the RCHT Sustainability Lead, e.g. “Made me change a few things at home” and “The posters are great, love the 'did you know' section”.

92% of staff members who responded to a survey adopted use of Ecosia as their default search engine. Over a 7.5 week period, 2,328 searches were made by staff, estimating 46.56 trees planted. If scaled across a year, this could equal 322 trees planted by the Clinical Coding team.

You can read more about the project by downloading the attached case study or by opening the Royal Cornwall Hospitals 2022 Impact Report on the Green Ward Competition | Centre for Sustainable Healthcare webpage.