Solution not pollution! :How can we make the NHS more sustainable?

摘要

Public awareness of environmental issues has been increasing over recent years. While this has always been an important topic for discussion, the warnings of climate change have been catapulted into the spotlight with famous environmental activists such as David Attenborough. In the NHS, there have been efforts to tackle a climate ‘health emergency’ for several years. Currently, the NHS produces much higher emissions for healthcare than the global average. It therefore comes as no surprise that something has to change. This change began with a nationwide NHS initiative to tackle the climate emergency and reduce the environmental footprint of the NHS. This paper discusses the current issues of environmental waste in the NHS as well as ways to reduce its impact on the planet. In 2019, research from Health Care Without Harm showed that the healthcare sector is responsible for 5.4% of the UK's carbon emissions, equivalent to the greenhouse gases from 11 coal fired power stations. When waste from the National Health Service (NHS) needs to be removed, it is transported to a facility to be heat treated and incinerated. It is during the incineration process that harmful pollutant emissions are released. These harmful emissions also have a major health impact, and can be linked to lung cancer and heart disease, with air pollution contributing to 36,000 deaths in the UK annually. Established in 2008, the Sustainable Development Unit has been monitoring the amount of waste produced by the health and social care system in England in order to lessen the impact on the environment. Indeed, carbon emissions and the water footprint have reduced in recent years but there is still a long way to go to further reduce the environmental footprint of the NHS.