The NHS has committed to reduce its carbon footprint but, aside from ensuring that legislative targets are reached, the benefits of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions are well documented. Yet the NHS faces increasing financial and service pressures; meaning that ‘green’ working is not always at the forefront of consideration. Many NHS organisations in England procure paper through the NHS Supply Chain Core Stationary list, which only contains paper produced from virgin (non-recycled) sources. As such, out of the 3.6 million reams of paper procured through NHS Supply Chain, only 29,000 were produced from recycled sources.
Case studies in Green Nephrology are indexed from the Mapping Greener Healthcare site at this address. Projects to date range from waste reduction in haemodialysis to telephone and video clinics.
A carbon footprinting study published this month compares in-centre and home haemodialysis and highlights that the frequency of treatments has a big impact on carbon emissions. Curbing emissions will require the development of lower carbon technologies, sustainable procurement policies and efficient waste management. Read the full article here
From November 2010, I will take over from Andy Connor as the next Green Nephrology Fellow, I am both excited by the tremendous developments that have occurred in little over a year and slightly daunted at the prospect of taking on the mantle of "Fellow".
Children from Hippo and Victoria wards at Great Ormond Street Hospital have created an almost life-size polar bear from discarded haemodialysis packaging with the help of artist Darcy Turner. The project coincides with other initiatives across the UK, as renal departments challenge medical equipment manufacturers to reduce waste and increase recycling opportunities.
The conversation in green nephrology has changed. Though water reclamation, recycling and energy saving are still important, a fly on the wall at last week’s Green Nephrology Summit would have heard just as much about “telephone clinics”, “RenalPatientView*”, “patient self-care”, “shared decision-making”…
A carbon footprint study of a UK renal service, undertaken by Green Nephrology Fellow, Dr Andy Connor, and published in the Quarterly Journal of Medicinethis month, confirms the importance of tackling supply chain emissions, revealing that the procurement of goods and services accounts for 72% of the carbon impact of kidney care. Within procurement, the majority of emissions are attributable to pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and waste services.
The Green Nephrology programme is looking for an enthusiastic health professional with experience in kidney care. After a brilliant first year, the programme is seeking to build the national Green Nephrology Network and raise its profile in the renal community.
This article by CSH's Sustainable Surgery Fellow, Chantelle Rizan, and co-authors, provides greenhouse gas emission factors for the different healthcare waste streams in the UK.
Article: Environmental impact of Personal Protective Equipment supplied to health and social care services in England in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background: Health-care services are necessary for sustaining and improving human wellbeing, yet they have an environmental footprint that contributes to environment-related threats to human health.
John Agar and Katherine Barraclough have produced a fantastic review looking at the impacts of environmental change on kidney health as well as the environmental damage caused by kidney services (especially dialysis) and strategies to mitigate this.
This toolkit gives you everything you need for a 1 minute, 5 minute and even more minute conversation, complete with step-by-step guides, behavioural change insights and all the evidence to back it up.
The Royal College of Physicians published a new report 'Outpatients: the future – adding value through sustainability' which seeks to re-evaluate the purpose of outpatient care and align those objectives with modern-day living and expectations.
Short animation to raise awareness of the NHS contribution to environmental issues such as climate change and air pollution, and encourage health professionals to look for environmentally friendly ways to practise.
Sustainability has been recognised as a domain of quality in healthcare, and building it into quality improvement (QI) is a practical way to drive incremental change towards a more ethical, sustainable health system.
CSH is seeking to appoint a qualified health professional to an Education Fellowship, working on a project to support the inclusion of sustainability in quality improvement education for undergraduate medical students, postgraduate doctors and other health professionals.
John Agar and Katherine Barraclough have produced a fantastic review looking at the impacts of environmental change on kidney health as well as the environmental damage caused by kidney services (especially dialysis) and strategies to mitigate this.
Sustainability has been recognised as a domain of quality in healthcare, and building it into quality improvement (QI) is a practical way to drive incremental change towards a more ethical, sustainable health system.