Bethan Davies, Stroke Consultant and Deputy Clinical Green Lead, University Hospitals Sussex

For Bethan Davies, preventing chronic disease is a pillar of delivering sustainable healthcare.

Bethan works at Royal Sussex County Hospital, where in addition to her clinical work, she leads on environmental sustainability in the trust and in stroke medicine nationally.

Air pollution, unhealthy diets, lack of exercise and other features of our modern lives contribute to poor health and risk of diseases like stroke, as well as contributing to climate change and increased health risks from heat, flooding and drought.  Bethan works to raise awareness of these issues and to reduce the environmental impact of delivering healthcare at University Hospitals Sussex.

“The NHS is there for people in a crisis but also to support people to stay well.  It is the cornerstone of a compassionate society that values everyone and helps people when they need it most. When someone has a stroke, we are there to give emergency, sometimes life-changing treatment, but up to 90% of strokes are preventable, so supporting people to lead healthy lives and avoid having strokes in the first place is an essential part of what we do.”

Bethan’s work is a powerful example of the shift from sickness to prevention: stroke prevention is a key part of the work of the stroke team, which includes promoting healthy lifestyles that are sustainable for both people’s health and for the planet. Not only does it enable people to live longer in good health, but it is also better for the environment – avoiding the need for hospital admissions means less plastic pollution, wasted medicines, patient journeys and hospital bed days.