University to help reduce carbon emissions in UK healthcare
Developing new ways to help the NHS dramatically cut its carbon footprint will be the focus of a new UK-wide hub involving Glasgow Caledonian University, funded by millions of pounds in government awards.
The £6.5million funding is from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It will enable the creation of a new health and social care pathways hub, which will bring together a range of university and healthcare partners throughout the UK to tackle the challenge of helping the NHS become environmentally sustainable, and to help meet its legal obligation to become net zero by 2045.
The NHS has already made good progress in reducing its own carbon footprint, with emissions directly in their control on course for an 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030. However, emissions have actually increased from travel, waste and from companies who make drugs, devices and supplies used by hospitals and care facilities.
Glasgow Caledonian, led by Dr Karin Helwig from the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, will receive £302,000 to participate in the hub, with a focus on reducing pharmaceutical pollution through alternative mental health treatments, including social prescribing (non-medical interventions). The team will use Life Cycle Assessment and environmental risk methods to evaluate these alternatives, building on prior research into sustainable, patient-centred care.
Dr Helwig explained: “Healthcare accounts for about 4-5% of the UK’s carbon emissions. Our research, including work already undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian’s first Hydro Nation Scholar, Julze Alejandre, has explored the potential of social prescribing to lower pharmaceutical pollution. We are delighted to extend this research as part of a UK-wide consortium.”
Julze has been working to develop Scotland’s first ‘blue-green’ prescribing programme, which aims to reduce pharmaceutical pollution by combining nature-based health interventions with environmentally informed prescribing. This includes prescribing activities such as kayaking or swimming for mental-health conditions, alongside less environmentally harmful medications. His research has already been supported by the Scottish Government and NHS Highland, and has led to policy recommendations for sustainable prescribing practices in Scotland.
Ed Wilson, Professor of Health Economics and Health Policy at the University of Exeter, is project lead for the new hub. He said: “We’re delighted to receive this funding, which recognises our strong partnerships with the NHS, and our commitment to a greener, fairer and healthier society. We’ll be looking at a patient’s journey through the NHS and social care, finding where the carbon hotspots are and seeing what we can do to make them carbon neutral. This isn’t just about reducing travel and unnecessary waste, but about helping the NHS’ suppliers - the companies who make our drugs, medical devices and everyday items like swabs, sheets and hospital gowns - to redesign their processes to reduce carbon emissions.”
In addition to the University of Exeter, key partners include NHS Highland, the Institute of Cancer Research, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Aberdeen, along with healthcare organisations such as the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland and NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time programme.