GP surgeries in Gloucestershire are leading the way in looking after the environment and showing how being greener benefits the health of patients.
A movement is gaining momentum among primary healthcare teams, involving GPs, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Together they are taking sustainable steps and making links between planetary and patient health.
Their first achievement has been the creation of a new and informative video for surgery waiting rooms.
Two Primary Care Networks (PCN), Central Cheltenham and Berkeley Vale PCN joined forces for the film, which explains to patients the ways in which the primary care workforce is taking positive action to reduce carbon emissions while improving the wellbeing of communities.
Action being taken by practices includes a range of measures from installing renewable energy such as solar panels on buildings to save costs and carbon emissions to supporting ‘greener’ prescribing.
Strict procedures for hand and surface hygiene means the amount of single use plastic gloves and couch roll can be reduced.
GPs and pharmacists are also helping asthma and lung disease patients to switch to inhaler types and techniques that are less harmful to the environment.
Other actions relate to encouraging people to move more, including setting up patient walking groups to improve wellbeing.
Dr Katherine Bristol, a GP and Partner at Cam and Uley Family Practice and Primary Care Environmental and Sustainability Lead at NHS Gloucestershire said:
“We hope the film will be an attractive as well as informative addition for patient waiting rooms, and it includes an important message.
“We know that the climate crisis is also a health crisis, and that planetary health underpins all the social and environmental factors that influence our health and wellbeing.
“A very easy to understand example of the benefits for patient health would be encouraging patients to ‘actively’ travel to and from appointments if possible.
“Exercise is enormously beneficial for health, and air quality would be improved from not using a car.”
In Gloucestershire 60% of GP practices have enrolled in the Green Impact for Health award accreditation scheme, which lists more than 100 actions to improve environmental sustainability. These include tips on how to consume less and waste less.
Other interventions relate to patient and staff transport, solar energy, social and green prescribing with local walking groups in nature, switching inhaler types and checking prescriptions at the pharmacy counter to avoid stockpiling of unwanted medicines at home.