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.
We were very lucky to have Rob Winter with us - and he issued a challenge:
“We have an opportunity to develop a paradigm of care for the 21st century, one which is better for patients and better for the environment. Healthcare has a responsibility not to follow but to lead on carbon reduction; respiratory medicine should be at the forefront."
The discussions we had on the day were wide ranging, and took in all of the major principles the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare follows when looking at care pathways:
1) an emphasis on prevention,
2) increased self-management
3) creating “LEAN” systems of care and
4) using lower carbon therapies where available.
There were two things which struck me about the day:
Firstly, as was pointed out at the summit - the first three principles under-pin a lot of the current movement in respiratory care - particularly care for long term conditions - with greater emphasis on shared decision making, and improving patient education to intervene early in exacerbations (COPD being the disease most referred to during the day.) The importance of smoking cessation as a therapy for respiratory disease, and clearly, as a preventative measure.
The impementation of schemes like the COPD care bundle (see www.copdcarebundle.com for more) show how the principles of LEAN systems design ( LEAN systems wikipedia link ) can help to increase the efficiency and quality of care.
Secondly, that although the attendees may not have had a great deal of history looking at healthcare from the perspective of carbon reduction, there was a wide consensus that a lower carbon future is good for the NHS, and healthcare in general - and each of us has a part to play.
It was heartening to hear that progress is already being made - with the NHS total footprint reducing over the past few years, but also that 65% of that footprint remains in procurement (i.e. the core business of healthcare - not just the estates stuff like turning off lights and insulating buildings)
Overall the day was very encouraging, starting new conversations, sparking new ideas, and making connections between diverse parts of the respiratory world.
We hope that the network hosted on this site will be a place for you to contribute ideas, access resources, and help to shape the future of respiratory care in the UK.
Please take a look at the list of priorities that came out of the event here: Sustainable COPD Priorities 2012 survey and let us know what you think we need to concentrate on.
Download the summary statement from the Summit here.
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