Respiratory care has some of the biggest problems (inhalers) and many good solutions for sustainable healthcare.

Gloucester Hospitals Respiratory Care Guidelines

Dear All,

This maybe useful to those interested in producing local guidelines on environmentally friendly inhaler use.

Sustainable Paediatric Respiratory Care

Free podcast on sustainable paediatric respiratory care with Paediatric Trainees Kirsten Dykes and Rosie Spooner.

New Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare elearning programme

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has partnered with Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh)(link is external) to develop elearning resources designed to equip healthcare workers with the knowledge and skills they need to deliver healthcare that is financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

framework for sustainable inhaler practices in GP

SSC report + recorded workshop
- background/context of sustainable respiratory care
- summary of interviews with practice patients
- framework for action/SusQI projects in GP

May, 2021

Asthma and Climate Change: European Respiratory Society Webinar

The ERS held a webinar on World Asthma day last week, and released a statement alongside. Link here to YouTube

Online survey and interview for GREEN-ICU research project

The GREEN-ICU research team is exploring ways t

Help: carbon footprint of medical oxygen?

Hi network,

The carbon footprint of waste streams in a UK hospital

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.

Highlights:

Journal of Cleaner Production

December, 2020

Environmental impact of PPE in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic

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.

Chantelle Rizan, Malcolm Reed, Mahmood F Bhutta

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

December, 2020

Inhalers poster

We are using this poster to inform improved inhaler prescribing at Newcastle Hospitals

December, 2020

Invitation for Doctors working in Europe to complete Survey

Students from the University of Amsterdam would like to hear from you regarding COVID-19 induced e-health implementation and its contrib

Introduction to Sustainable Healthcare goes international!

Our first Introduction course was by attended remotely by health professionals from across the UK, Australia and Canada.

The environmental footprint of health care: a global assessment

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.

July, 2020

Blue, brown and now green

Useful information resource / infographic about different inhalers and the main differences between them - including environmental impact.

Could be helpful in teaching...

The Pharmaceutical Journal

June, 2020

Recording: National Allied Health Professions Sustainability Webinar

This is a recording of the AHP Sustainability webinar from June 18th 2020, part of the National Allied Health Professions fornightly webinar series.

June, 2020

BTS Position Statement on The Environment and Lung Health 2020

This was released in March of this year, unfortunately I think I and many others were a bit distracted by COVID, but it is definitely worth a read

Millions of Nurses Call The World To Action #HealthyRecovery

From the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, this a short video (see link below) which accompanies the

May, 2020

New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers

The new GP contract published last week includes a new incentive to encourage lower carbon inhalers.

Prescribing Movement resource

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.

Moving Medicine

January, 2020

We're scaling up to carbon-neutral healthcare

The recent huge interest in climate change has created an unprecedented demand for our charity to help people to take action.

New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers

The new GP contract published last week includes a new incentive to encourage lower carbon inhalers.

Green Inhaler website

This patient- and clinician-facing website gives guidance on choosing inhalers with lower environmental impact - something which is now included in the BTS asthma guidelines.

Dr Alex Wilkinson

September, 2019

New BTS asthma guidelines encourage use of low-GWP inhalers

Section 8.6 of the new BTS/SIGN Guideline for the management of asthma highlights the environmental impact of metered dose inhalers (pMDI) and recommends that inhalers with low global-warming potential (GWP) should be used when likely to be equally effective.

British Thoracic Society

July, 2019

Asthma UK inhaler videos

Are you confident in teaching patients how to use their inhalers? The first step in improving environmental sustainability of inhaler use is to ensure that people use the correct technique to get the drug to where it is needed.

Asthma UK

July, 2019

NICE encourages use of greener asthma inhalers

"People with asthma will be helped to choose the inhaler that is best for them, and best for the environment, by a new patient decision aid from NI

Sustainability in QI - the time has come!

Health systems are in constant need of improvement - and in some cases total redesign.

Sustainability in Quality Improvement learning resources

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.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2017

Reducing the carbon footprint of hospital-based care

Nephrologist, Charlie Tomson, gives an overview of the challenge of reducing carbon in the NHS and potential solutions - from energy and waste reduction to Sustainable Care Pathways.

Tomson, C., Future Hospital Journal

February, 2015

Browse this Networks's Resources in the Resource Library

Sustainable inhaler prescribing driver diagram

This example driver diagram shows how principles of sustainable clinical practice can be applied to improve respiratory inhaler prescribing. Hopefully it shows a holistic approach (MDI>DPI is not the whole story...).

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2017

RCP video on NHS environmental impact

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.

Royal College of Physicians

September, 2018

Making Sense of Social Prescription

The University of Westminster has published an excellent explanatory document on social prescription. It's a fantastic end to end resource with explanations of terminology, structures, different types of social prescription, and referral examples.

August, 2017

Sustainability in Quality Improvement learning resources

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2017

Top tips for mental health teams to improve respiratory outcomes for their clients

A ten-point summary of best practice for mental health teams to improve respiratory outcomes for people with mental health problems developed by the London Respiratory Network. This matters because:

London Respiratory Network

June, 2016

Reducing the carbon footprint of hospital-based care

Nephrologist, Charlie Tomson, gives an overview of the challenge of reducing carbon in the NHS and potential solutions - from energy and waste reduction to Sustainable Care Pathways.

Tomson, C., Future Hospital Journal

February, 2015

The impact of respiratory virtual clinics in primary care on responsible respiratory prescribing and inhaled corticosteroid withdrawal in patients with COPD: a feasibility study

Poster which was presented at the BTS winter meeting 2014.

King's Health Partners

January, 2015

Sustainable Respiratory Inhalers Programme - Table of Actions

Table of Actions for a Sustainable Respiratory Inhalers Programme - first created in consultation with Sustainable Respiratory Care Advisory Group in February 2013. This table can be updated as actions are completed or proposed.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

February, 2013

Sustainable Respiratory Inhalers Programme - briefing note

The continued use of metered-dose inhalers in respiratory care will have a potentially catastrophic effect on global warming if production is not controlled, largely because these inhalers use potent green-house gas hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) as propellants.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2013

Thorax editorial - Prevention is best: lessons from protecting the ozone layer

Published late last year in BMJ Thorax, editorial by Ashley Woodcock: "The Montreal Protocol was signed 25 years ago. As a result, the irreversible destruction of the ozone layer was prevented.

Ashley Woodcock

July, 2012

Calling all Q members (Health Foundation) with a passion for sustainability

Calling all sustainability friends… are you a Q member (Health Foundation)?

Sustainability in QI - the time has come!

Health systems are in constant need of improvement - and in some cases total redesign.

Air Pollution - GPs

Hello - Im a final year medical student doing a 2 week placement with CSH.

MPs call on NHS to reduce use of MDIs to tackle climate change

The Environmental Audit Committee has called on the Government, the NHS and manufacturers to reduce the production and use of metered dos

WFOT Launches Guiding Principles for Sustainability in Occupational Therapy

Last week saw the launch of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists publication ‘Sustainability Matters: Guiding Principles for Sustainabil

Summary of Climate and health session - All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change

This was a very research-rich event which clearly put climate change on the health 'to-do' list. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate

The Adult Health and Social Care Crisis - Green Infrastructure as Part of the Solution

I was asked to contribute a health-related article for a special Green Infrastructure themed edition of Town and Country Planning, the journal of t

CSH event on innovation and sustainability

On the 26th July 2017, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) hosted a Centre for Sustainable Healthcare event on sustainability and innovati

New 'Active 10' app from PHE to get adults active

Nearly 1 in 4 people in England are classified as ‘inactive’, doing under 30 minutes of physical activity a week, and face the greatest risks to he

The Impact of Paper Procurement in the NHS.

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.

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Green Prescribing for sustainable healthcare: from policy to practice

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Members

Rosie Spooner posted Gloucester Hospitals Respiratory Care Guidelines in the Sustainable Respiratory Care network

Wed, 6/16/2021 - 2:09pm

Jennifer Nixon commented on Sustainable Paediatric Respiratory Care in the Sustainable Respiratory Care network

Sun, 6/13/2021 - 3:48pm

Rosie Spooner posted Sustainable Paediatric Respiratory Care in the Sustainable Respiratory Care network

Mon, 6/7/2021 - 2:10pm

Featured in this Network

New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers

The new GP contract published last week includes a new incentive to encourage lower carbon inhalers.

Green Inhaler website

This patient- and clinician-facing website gives guidance on choosing inhalers with lower environmental impact - something which is now included in the BTS asthma guidelines.

Dr Alex Wilkinson

September, 2019