Local weather change is a well being emergency and an existential menace to us all, with greater than 13 million deaths around the globe annually as a consequence of avoidable environmental causes (World Well being Organisation, 2022).
The hyperlinks between well being and local weather change are nicely established, with local weather change exacerbating meals insecurity, well being impacts from excessive warmth, the chance of infectious illness outbreaks and life-threatening excessive climate occasions (Romanello et al, 2022). Local weather change additionally widens well being inequalities by most affecting these already susceptible to ailing well being.
“As nurses and midwives now we have a key position to play in tackling local weather change”
International healthcare, if it have been its personal nation, could be the fifth largest emitter of inexperienced home gases on the planet (Well being Care With out Hurt, 2019). The NHS in England was the world’s first well being system to decide to reaching net-zero carbon and to embed this in laws by the Well being and Care Act 2022.
As nurses and midwives now we have a key position to play in tackling local weather change. In some ways, it’s already on the core of how we follow and aligns with our duties enshrined within the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code to guard sufferers, protect security and act immediately if there’s a threat to affected person security or public safety. We’re essentially the most trusted professions, work with people throughout their lifespan and have unimaginable attain. We additionally perceive and witness the general public well being impression of local weather change on the communities we serve.
Nurses and midwives throughout the nation are already main and contributing in direction of a extra sustainable NHS. One belief has even piloted a task the place a registered nurse or midwife combines their medical position with protected time for sustainable high quality enchancment initiatives, related to their companies and aligned with the Greener NHS programme.
Native inexperienced plans deal with decreasing their onsite and oblique carbon emissions as described within the ‘Delivering a Web Zero NHS’ Plan (NHS England, 2020). Alongside components equivalent to vitality consumption and estates, important work has taken place in decrease carbon medical pathways. We’re exploring whether or not a hybrid position might allow additional growth of medical sustainability and carbon decreasing follow inside medical companies, giving long-term well being advantages for service customers and aligning with worldwide and nationwide priorities aimed toward supporting nurse and midwife retention and profession development.
What will be achieved in such a position? Rhea Conn, intensive care nurse at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Belief, reveals how one individual with concepts and devoted time can actually make a distinction. Rhea’s division and belief supported her to pilot a task which incorporates the entire time equal of 0.2 protected time for sustainability. With the assistance of bespoke assist and training from NHS England, in a short while Rhea improved the sustainability of various domains, attaining each departmental value and carbon financial savings. She additionally enhanced her management expertise and her sense of wellbeing at work, in addition to inspiring and connecting others regionally to take ahead the inexperienced agenda.
For instance, one measure she launched was altering to a UK-supplied bathe gel the place the corporate takes again the empty containers and refills them. This may save the division round 125kg of carbon emissions a yr and halves the associated fee per wash. It additionally lessens the impression on the oceans by changing a product shipped from China. This would possibly appear to be a small change, however think about adjustments like this scaled-up throughout the entire well being service.
We recognise the contribution nurses and midwives could make to the sustainability agenda by management, innovation and a dedication to growing sustainable practices for the good thing about sufferers, colleagues and society. Rhea’s position is an instance of how trusts can take ahead sustainability points and profit from the alternatives round sustainable nursing and midwifery.
Emma Pascale Blakey is medical lead for sustainability, nursing directorate, NHS England. Rhea Conn is senior sister and medical sustainability lead, crucial care companies, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Belief
Discover out extra: rnrm.sustainability@nhs.web . Be a part of the Nursing and Midwifery Sustainability Community by way of this manner
References
Well being Care With out Hurt (2019) Well being Care’s Local weather Footprint: How the Well being Sector contributes to the International Local weather Disaster and Alternatives for Motion. Well being Care With out Hurt.
NHS England (2020) Delivering a ‘Web Zero’ Nationwide Well being Service. NHSE.
Romanello M et al (2022) The 2022 report of the Lancet countdown on well being and local weather change: well being on the mercy of fossil fuels. The Lancet; 400: 10363, 1619-1654.
World Well being Group (2022) World well being day 2022. Who.int (accessed 18 July 2023).