As a system, the L&SC ICB working with NHS organisations and partners to prevent people from getting sick and improve communities’ health.
On 1 July 2022, the NHS became the first health system in the world to embed net zero into legislation, through the Health and Care Act 2022.
Two targets are outlined in the statutory guidance Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service report:
- Emissions we control directly to be net zero by 2040, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction by 2028 to 2032
- Emissions we can influence to be net zero by 2045, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction by 2036 to 2039
RESOURCES
Greener NHS
Climate change poses a major threat to our health as well as our planet. The environment is changing, that change is accelerating, and this has direct and immediate consequences for our patients, the public and the NHS.
This section is part of our support to the Greener NHS programme and their effort to reduce the environmental impact on public health and the environment, save money and reach net carbon zero.
The conference will focus on practical workshops, bringing together relevant partners for informed discussion, leaving delegates with a clear understanding of the next steps to nature recovery on their respective estates. The conference will be an opportunity for NHS estate professionals, public health teams, trust sustainability officers and other health professionals interested in the intersect between health & the environment to learn more about what we can do across the NHS settings.
To register for the event please go to: Nature Recovery on NHS Estates, North West Regional Conference Tickets, Thu 12 Oct 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
What's happening
Training and Events
e-Learning Modules
The Carbon Literacy for Healthcare elearning is comprised of five elearning modules that cover climate science, impacts and policy, before focusing on climate change and health and effective climate communication. Each module concludes with an assessment to test your knowledge.
The Carbon Literacy Project offers everyone access to a day’s worth of climate change learning, certifying successful participants and organisations, and their learning and action, as Carbon Literate.
Green Healthcare Leadership Programme for nurses and midwives
The Green Healthcare Leadership Programme, co-developed and delivered by Florence Nightingale Foundation and Nuffield Health, and supported by NHS England, is now accepting applications from registered nurses and midwives working in band 5 to 7 roles across the NHS in England.
Nurses and midwives are well-placed to lead transformational change to help the NHS achieve its net zero goal, while improving patient care now and for future generations. This fully funded programme offers a unique opportunity for nurses and midwives to develop their leadership, Quality Improvement and sustainability skills and knowledge, empowering them to innovate and lead change.
The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 8 September. Applications are particularly welcome from internationally educated nurses and midwives.
Greener NHS Knowledge Hub - FutureNHS
NHS staff with an interest in sustainability are invited to join the Greener NHS Knowledge Hub on FutureNHS. This workspace connects you to information, tools and resources, and provides a space for you to share your knowledge, ideas and best practice. You can also see a wide range of case studies and join our discussion forum. Join now.
Carbon Literacy Action day
On the 4th of December 2023, to coincide with the UN COP28 Climate Negotiations, the Carbon Literacy Project will be holding the biggest-ever climate education-and-action training event.
The action day offers an opportunity for as many learners as possible from all walks of life, organisations, sectors and backgrounds, to complete their Carbon Literacy training simultaneously on a single day, and pledge low carbon actions to reduce emissions.
RCGP Learning
This course aims to educate GPs about how we can improve asthma outcomes whilst reducing the carbon footprint of inhaler prescribing. It will outline opportunities to improve patient disease control and optimise inhaler device prescribing and will signpost to step-by-step quality improvement tools to implement this work in practice. For GPs based in England, completing this course will support achievement of the Investment and Impact Fund criteria on respiratory care and sustainability from April 2022 – April 2024. Much of the information about greener inhaler choices also applies to patients who use inhalers for other reasons, e.g. COPD.
The 2020 report “Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service” committed the NHS to becoming the first health service in the world to achieve carbon net zero. General practice can reduce the environmental impact of delivering care. This course will help you identify emission hotspots and the actions needed to reduce the non-clinical carbon emissions.
Nursing and Midwifery Sustainability Enabling Framework Workshops
The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for England, Dame Ruth May, has launched the development of a professional strategy for nursing and midwifery that will set out the direction of travel and ambitions for the professions.
One of the areas of focus is sustainability. To support Greener NHS ambitions, they are developing an enabling framework to support professional identity, engagement and practice in this area. Through a series of facilitated online workshops the CNO aims to identify clearly the role of nurses and midwives in the sustainability agenda.
Nurses and midwives working across health and social care, and nursing and midwifery students are invited you to sign up to one of the upcoming workshops.
What's happening
Resources & Updates
Active Travel Grants
For GP practices in Lancashire, Lancashire County Council are offering several £5k funding pots to support your staff and patients to ditch their cars and adopt active travel such as walking or cycling. The grant application can be found here alongside the terms and conditions of the scheme here.
Examples of the types of projects they are looking for:
- Protected storage for bikes
- Bike or electric Bike pools for use by staff eg for home visits or maybe green social prescribers
- Changing facilities
Please email Obed on [email protected]
Funding available for practices to develop green spaces
There is some possible funding from NHS Property Services to support the development of green spaces. Practices must meet a set of criteria to be considered.
Delivering a Net Zero NHS for a Healthier Future - funding competition
SBRI Healthcare, an Accelerated Access Collaborative initiative, in partnership with Greener NHS and the AHSN Network, is delighted to announce a new competition; Competition 24: Delivering a Net Zero NHS for a Healthier Future.
The competition is open to single organisations based in the UK or EU from the private, public, and third sectors, including companies – large corporates and small and medium enterprises, charities, universities and NHS providers. Organisations based outside the UK or EU with innovations in remit for this call can apply as subcontractors of a lead UK/EU based organisation or via a UK or EU subsidiary. All innovations should demonstrate a clear benefit for the NHS.
Join the upcoming webinar hosted by SBRI Healthcare Programme Management Office and the Greener NHS team to find our more on 22 September 2.00 – 4.00pm.
Good medical practice from the General Medical Council (GMC)
The GMC’s ‘Good medical practice’ which sets out the standards of patient care and professional behaviour expected of all doctors in the UK, across all specialties, career stages and sectors, has been updated.
In addition you can read the recent article from The BMJ on these changes.
Greener NHS 10 point green plan for practices
This 10-point plan has been developed by the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB alongside primary care colleagues, to help guide practices to reduce their environmental impact in line with the NHS’ net zero ambitions.
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
Salix Finance has announced that Phase 3c of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will open for applications in autumn 2023.
HM Government has made at least £230m available for projects for financial year 2024/25 with additional budget for financial year 2025/26 provided to the scheme to enable projects to be delivered over two years.
Guidance documents are now available for prospective applicants before the Application Portal opens. Salix are holding a number of webinars throughout the summer to share more information and answer questions.
30 days wild
See below the communications toolkit for NHS Organisations for the Greener NHS – 30 days wild initiative, with a particular focus on NHS’s 75th anniversary this year
Green Impact Dentistry launches!
Green Impact is an internationally recognised sustainability learning and awards scheme with practical advice and tips for dental practices who want to improve their sustainability and social responsibility. Over the year dental teams work through a freely accessible online toolkit, co-designed by sustainability and dentistry experts, which guides them on strategically embedding sustainability within their practice and championing health and wellbeing through positive sustainability actions.
Register your practice here to start making an impact. If you are based in Wales, you should take part in the Greener Primary Care Wales framework, coordinated by Public Health Wales.
For more information please get in touch with [email protected]
Updates
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)is partnering with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to launch a new £30 million funding programme. The expectation is that research funded through this call, will support the UK in its transition to net zero.The new NIHR-UKRI funding call, will provide up to £6 million, to a number of hubs, addressing at least one of the challenge areas in the net zero agenda related to health, the human health implications of current policies and to identify new health-focused interventions. The funding will go to UK research institutions and researchers.
See Sustainability has a wide range of excellent resources including, videos, podcasts, slides, documents and reports for NHS Primary Care.
The latest funding round from the scheme providing grants to public sector bodies (including NHS trusts) to fund low carbon heating, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, will open on Tuesday 10 October at 2pm.
The Government has made available up to £230m for projects for financial year 2024/25 with additional budget for financial year 2025/26 through Phase 3c of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to enable projects to be delivered over two years.
As previously, the scheme operates on a first come first served basis, and typically receives a large volume of applications. As a result, it is crucial that prospective applicants have the relevant documentation complete and ready to submit as soon as the portal opens. Guidance documents, including Guidance Notes, Application Form, Terms & Conditions, Applicant Journey and Privacy Notice, are now available to download and complete.
Salix are holding a numbers of webinars over the nex
This year’s Recycle Week takes place nationally between 16-22 October. Last year, 54 NHS organisation and 14 other organisations joined forces to use this national event to great effect, collectively promoting their walking aids reuse schemes and raising public awareness.
NHS staff can find more information and access resources on the Central Commercial Function FutureNHS hub; please email [email protected] if you are unable to access the page
Planet centred care is a new podcast series from the BMJ exploring issues related to environmentally sustainable healthcare, aimed at all clinicians, and anyone working in healthcare, who want to make sure they can continue to help patients whilst not harming the planet.
Join former Chief Sustainability Officer’s Clinical Fellow, Dr Florence Wedmore and guests to explore various topics within sustainable healthcare.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has developed draft Greener Pharmacy Guides to support pharmacy teams working in community and hospital pharmacies to make their professional practice more environmentally sustainable by reducing carbon emissions. A consultation on the guides is now open and feedback is actively sought to create a collaborative resource that empowers pharmacy teams to take an active role in environmental sustainability.
Reports
- Net Zero End of Year Report – Redmoor Health
- Lancashire Community Climate Action Forum Report – Edgehill University
Net Zero Mental Health Care Report Launch – 15 November 2023
Join the Royal College of Psychiatrists on 15 November to launch the Net Zero Mental Health Care Report. This report has been produced in collaboration with NHS England to support mental health providers to meet their net zero targets and will include recommendations to deliver greener, more sustainable mental health care.
Register for the event or email [email protected] for further information.