In my first months as Acting Chief Sustainability Officer, one thing has become abundantly clear: our clinical staff are key in our efforts to reach our net zero goal. Climate change is not just an environmental challenge; it’s a health emergency that demands our urgent attention and concerted efforts. As the NHS takes bold strides […]
New NHS electric vehicles are hitting the road this summer, helping to relieve pressure on ambulance services across the country while also helping the NHS cut its carbon footprint. Eight ambulance trusts are trialling 21 zero-emission vehicles of various types, with six of the new green vehicles dedicated to mental health response in the community […]
I was born 10 weeks premature and owe my life to the amazing midwives, nurses, doctors, and other NHS staff working in neonatal intensive care many years ago. I’ve always wanted to be able to give back and it is an absolute privilege to be a nurse. I’ve worked in acute settings, most recently in […]
The story of the NHS could rival some of the best novels ever written. It is full of firsts: the world’s first universal healthcare system; the first to initiate a clinically approved COVID-19 vaccination programme; the first to deliver a combined lung and heart transplant. It has faced its share of adversity; not least, the […]
A circular economy for surgical textiles. Reducing travel emissions through smarter, faster, greener care. Technology that reduces emissions from pain relief 300 times more environmentally harmful than carbon dioxide. These are just some of the award-winning innovations that the NHS will invest in through a new £1 million Net Zero SBRI Healthcare competition. Launched last […]
SBRI Healthcare has awarded a total of £1 million to ten pioneering MedTech and Digital innovations to support the delivery of a Net Zero NHS. The new projects are funded through a nationwide call by SBRI Healthcare, in partnership with the Greener NHS Programme, and which attracted 46 applications from a range of organisations, including […]
As negotiators gather for the United Nations global climate change summit, COP26, an international group of leaders from some of the NHS’s largest suppliers have come together to pledge their support for a greener NHS, in recognition of the unequivocal threat to health presented by climate change. Left unabated, climate change will disrupt care, with […]
The NHS has today unveiled at COP26 – the United Nations global summit held in Glasgow – the world’s first zero emission ambulance capable of travelling up to 300 miles before re-charging. This marks a major milestone in the ongoing drive to build a greener NHS and save lives by tackling climate change at source. […]
The climate crisis is a health crisis. So agreed the NHS Assembly at our pre COP26 meeting where Dr Nick Watts, who has been appointed to lead the NHS’s charge on net zero, laid out how the health problems caused by climate change are very real and very immediate. And the facts around the NHS’s […]
On Thursday 9 September, Rosie was born in Newcastle. There was nothing unexpected about her birth. But that day, Rosie and her mum made history. Rosie’s mum, Kaja, was the first in the UK to use a “climate friendly” gas and air machine. This new machine removes and captures nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, from […]