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

Article n the Guardian on pharmaceutical waste in the NHS

Not sure whether people have seen this article in the Guardian:

Greener Inhalers for the UK

The Centre's Sustainable Respiratory Care group will lead research on why the UK continues to use inhalers with a much higher carbon footprint than other European countries.

Following the Montreal protocol banning the use of CFC gases in 1987, many countries moved directly to a new technology for inhalers based on Dried Powder (DPIs) while the UK still prescribes a majority of metered dose inhalers (MDIs) which use powerful greenhouse gases.

Selected topics for Sustainable COPD 2012

Inhalers will be the primary focus of our research over the next 4 months - looking at both a clinician-focused shift from MDIs to DPIs and a patient-focused recycling intiative.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

May, 2012

Sustainable COPD 2012 Topic Selection Consultation

Sustainable COPD 2012 Consultation – selection of content areas for research and implementation projects.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

April, 2012

Sustainable COPD Summit 23.3.2012 - Slides (second batch)

More slides from the 23 March 2012 Summit, "Sustainable Respiratory Care: High Quality Low Carbon" attended by leading members of the respiratory care community.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

February, 2012

Respiratory Medicine: High Quality, Low Carbon

On the 23rd of March I was lucky to be among a group of respiratory professionals, representatives from primary care, nursing, academic and the pharmaceutical industry as we came together to discuss how Respiratory medicine contributes, and can help to reduce the carbon footprint of the NHS.

Sustainable COPD - your views needed

Dear Network,

Sustainable COPD Priorities 2012 survey

The Summit on 23 March came up with too many ideas - we need to decide where to start with improving sustainability of COPD care in 2012. Please help us by completing this survey, which scores each area for clinical/environmental impact, programme development impact, and achievability.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2012

Sustainable Respiratory Care - Summary Statement (March 2012)

In March 2012, leading members of the respiratory care community attended a Summit entitled “Respiratory Care 2020: High Quality, Low Carbon” . The meeting identified priority areas for action to improve the environmental sustainability of respiratory services.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2012

Climate Change and Health report

A little while ago GlaxoSmithKline funded a joint study with the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford and Accenture

Sustainable COPD Summit 23.3.2012 - Slides (first batch)

Agenda and slides from the 23 March 2012 Summit, "Sustainable Respiratory Care: High Quality Low Carbon" attended by leading members of the respiratory care community.

Further slides to follow when available.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

February, 2012

Draft summary statement from COPD summit

Dear Network,

this is the draft Summary Statement from the 23 March sustainable COPD summit ("Respiratory Care 2020: High Quality Low Carbon").

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

March, 2012

Smoking ban - policy reunion

The Institute for Government held a policy reunion of the key players that were involved in policies to reduce tobacco use in England, which lead to the enactment of the ban on smoking in public places in 2005.

Panel

Institute for Government

April, 2011

Sustainable COPD Summit 23.3.2012 - Meeting Note

The first meeting of the Sustainable Respiratory Care programme: a diverse group (including respiratory physicians, GPs, nurses, academics, industry representatives, commissioners and sustainability experts) identified priority areas for action in care for patients with COPD.

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

February, 2012

Sustainable Anaesthesia

This is a good starting point for anaesthetists with an interest in the impact their care is having on the carbon footprint of the NHS, and what actions can be taken to reduce that impact.

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland

Value and Carbon in Respiratory Care

Value in healthcare is a recent concept which is being adopted by commissioners and healthcare leaders to focus on treatments which really make an impact to patients, whilst being delivered in an efficient way.

Costing healthcare is a complex area, and carbon costing is becoming more and more relevant. Read on to find out a little more about how the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is looking to help commissioners define value in respiratory care.

Innovative Inhaler Recycling Project Expanded

In February 2011 GlaxoSmithKline and the Cooperative Pharmacy in partnership with TerraCycle UK launched the first respiratory inhaler recycling programme in Europe. Forty Cooperative pharmacies across South Wales and the South East of England were piloting the programme for an initial six months. While the pharmacies encouraged patients to drop off their inhalers at their branch, TerraCycle UK recycled every element of the inhaler. After proving a huge success, the project was extended to 200 Cooperative pharmacies from November 2011.

Respiratory project proposal

A summary of the sustainable COPD project

Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

August, 2011

Welcome to the network for Sustainable Respiratory Care!

What will respiratory medicine look like in 5 years’ time, when carbon rationing is re-shaping the NHS?

Welcome to the Sustainable Respiratory Care Network!

We are starting an exciting project, funded for a year by GSK, to improve the environmental sustainability of respiratory medicine, focusing in particular on COPD.

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Browse this Networks's Resources in the Resource Library

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

Health Care’s Climate Footprint Report HCWH / ARUP

Health Care’s Climate Footprint: How the Health Sector Contributes to the Global Climate Crisis and Opportunities for Action.

September, 2019

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

Patient and Environmentally friendly spacer for Metered Dose Inhalers

Asthma summary

Asthma is very common. Almost 10% of people living in the European Union have a diagnosis of asthma. Among children, asthma is the most common chronic medical condition.

April, 2019

NICE patient decision aid for asthma inhalers

This is an information tool to help people with asthma and their healthcare professionals discuss their options for inhaler devices.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

April, 2019

UN report addresses propellant gases in inhalers

A report has just been presented to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in respect of the Montreal Prot

United Nations Environment Programme

January, 2019

Alternative to pMDI? Reduced environmental impact of a reusable soft mist inhaler

Hänsel M, Bambach T, Wachtel H M32 Reduced environmental impact of a reusable soft mist inhaler. Thorax 2018; 73:A262.

Abstract

Hansel M et al. Thorax

December, 2018

Moving beyond the air quality crisis

Realising the health benefits of acting on air pollution

This report on air pollution describes the current problem, the reasons it exists and the critical need to resolve it, and includes high level recommendations on the measures required to act on it.

UK Health Alliance on Climate Change

October, 2018

New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers

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

JOB OPPORTUNITY: CSH Education Lead for Quality Improvement

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is recruiting to a new full-time, permanent position based at least two days per week in our office in Oxford. Application deadline 10 February.

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.

UNDP and SPHS member agencies seek consultancy to develop the Sustainable Procurement Index for Health (SPIH)

This is as a globally established, recognized and adaptable measurement tool for policy makers, manufacturers, suppliers, procurers, and health car

NICE inhaler decision aid - feedback anyone?

Does anyone have experience of using the NICE patient decision aid for inhalers (which includes a section on environmental impacts)?&nbsp

Doctors call for nonviolent direct action over climate crisis

"More than 1,000 doctors including 40 professors, several eminent public health figures and past presidents of royal colleges are calling for wides

Climate advocacy networking

Doctors and all health professionals are highly respected.

Inhalers in primary care

Hi all,

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

QI Inhaler Project in Primary Care

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience of reducing MDI prescribing/use in a community GP setting?

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Sarah Walpole commented on New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers in the Sustainable Primary Care and Sustainable Respiratory Care groups

Sat, 2/15/2020 - 6:34pm

Christelle Blunden commented on New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers in the Sustainable Primary Care and Sustainable Respiratory Care groups

Sat, 2/15/2020 - 12:34pm

Frances Mortimer posted New GP contract incentivises lower carbon inhalers in the Sustainable Primary Care and Sustainable Respiratory Care groups

Thu, 2/13/2020 - 8:52pm

Charlotte Holbrook commented on Prescribing Movement resource in the Education for Sustainable Healthcare , Commissioning Sustainable Healthcare, Sustainable Operating Theatres, Green Nephrology, Sustainable Primary Care, Sustainable Respiratory Care, Psych Susnet, and Occupational Therapy Susnet groups.

Fri, 1/17/2020 - 12:35pm

Featured in this Network

Sustainability in QI - the time has come!

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

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