As the UK marks Clean Air Day (16th June), NHS Trusts across the Midlands are set to play their part in helping the NHS cut more than 1m tonnes of CO2 emissions in the next three years – the equivalent of taking 520,000 cars off the road. 

More than 200 new green plans have been put forward by NHS trusts across England, including every trust in the Midlands, setting out how it will reduce its environmental impact and help the NHS reach net zero by 2040.  

Initiatives across the Midlands include: 

West Midlands Ambulance Service reduction in carbon 

• Having introduced the country’s first fully electric ambulance in October 2020, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has achieved more than a 50% reduction in CO2 between 2014/15 and 2020/21.  
• Despite a 23% increase in incidents from 2015/16 to 2020/21, CO2 emissions from ambulances have only increased by 7% due to weight reductions in ambulances and more fuel-efficient engines. 
• WMAS’s fleet is made up of vehicles under 5 years old, ensuring compliance with the latest standards on emissions, and with several electric and hybrid vehicles in use.   

West Midlands: Solihull Hospital – Biodigester  

• Energy from waste biodigester takes food waste and turns it into green energy 
• Also have an electric supplies lorry working as part of their fleet 

East Midlands: Leicester – Take AIR inhaler recycling scheme 

• Run by pharma company Chiesi, supported by University Hospitals of Leicester and Leicestershire and Rutland Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) in LLR only 
• Pre-paid envelope provided by UHL/community pharmacy to return any type or brand of inhaler by post 
• All components of inhaler recycled, including safe disposal of greenhouse gases 
• Take AIR is the first and only scheme to allow people to dispose of and recycle their empty, unwanted, or out-of-date inhalers through the post, supporting a more sustainable way of living for people with respiratory illnesses. 
• Pilot started February 21, and is running until September 22 – hope for local commissioning/national rollout from then 
• After the first year of the scheme, with 65% of pharmacies signed up, patients had returned 5,254 envelopes containing a total of 20,008 inhalers. This equates to 118 tonnes of CO2e captured. 

East Midlands: Hope Orchard planted at Sherwood Forest Hospitals    

• The Hope Orchard was initiated and led by Sherwood Forest Hospital’s Climate Action Team to link the importance of planetary health on human health.  
• In March 2021, Sherwood Forest Hospitals planted fruit trees on each of their sites (King’s Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital and Mansfield Community Hospital) as part of a commitment to a lower carbon future.  
• The hospital trust was joined in the movement by schools, public sector partners, individuals and the Woodland Trust all planting fruit trees as part of a co-ordinated day of proactive climate change action.  
• The initiative brought together various parties from across the county to make a positive impact on both climate change and wellbeing, and promote the association of healthy food (fruit in this case) with health and the environment. 
• As well Sherwood Forest Hospitals, other organisations taking part included Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust at their Spring Meadow site, and the Woodland Trust who planted 20 crab apple trees.    
• The scheme included a diverse range of participants particularly from the Mid-Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Partnership, local NHS Trusts & East Midlands Ambulance Service. It also reached out to nearby councils, schools and colleges including; Yeoman Park Academy, Northfield Primary School and Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School amongst others. Through NHS colleague connections trees were planted as far afield as Huntingdon and Wales.  
• 93 trees were planted across the various partner sites in March 2021; in November 2021 a further 185 were planted, making a total of 278 trees across all sites with a Hope Orchard. 
• This initiative is an example of linking climate health and the environment and could be extended further for example linking food growing and allotments, exercise, healthy plant-based diet, and carbon reduction.  

An NHS England spokesperson said:  

“With air pollution alone contributing to one in 20 deaths in this country a year, it is clear we are facing a health emergency as well as a climate emergency.  

“The Green Plans across our region are a testament to our colleagues’ commitment to tackling climate change, and we are proud to set out the positive actions we will take to reduce our impact on the environment and safeguard the future health of our children and grandchildren.” 

The green plans lay out how the NHS, which contributes approximately 3.5% (9.5 billion miles) of all road travel in England, will make this travel greener. Smarter buildings, LED lighting and energy saving measures are also reducing emissions and saving NHS organisations money, while using intravenous anesthetic instead of gas and helping patients use inhalers more efficiently are improving patient care.  

Dr Nick Watts, Chief Sustainability Officer at NHS England said: 

“The NHS was the first health system in the world to commit to net zero and the outstanding innovation and commitment from the Midlands region is a vital step towards achieving that aim.   

“Doing our bit on climate change will directly improve public health and reduce health inequalities, cutting deaths caused by air pollution and ensuring a healthier future for our children.” 

The delivery of the Green Plans will be boosted by a recent £218 million Government investment in hospital energy efficiency and decarbonisation in the Midlands. 

ENDS

Notes for editors:  

• Colleagues are available for interview on the above initiatives. 
• Modelling for the carbon footprint is set out in the annex of the Delivering a Net Zero NHS Report, published in 2020 when the NHS first made the commitment to net zero 
• Figures for annual emissions from vehicle usage (68Mt in 2019) and the number of cars on the road (32.7m) to work out average emissions per car on the road 
• A report by Imperial College London found that London’s poor air quality led to more than 1,700 hospital admission for asthma and serious lung conditions between 2017-2019. 
• Recent research by the Clean Air Fund found that if current and proposed government policies are implemented, air pollution could be reduced to WHO-aligned levels across the majority of the UK by 2030 and as a result there would be 3000 fewer cases of heart disease, and children across the country would suffer an average of 388,000 fewer days of asthma symptoms 
• A report by the Environment Agency found that air pollution is the single biggest environmental threat to health in the UK, shortening tens of thousands of lives each year