Find the thermostat(s) or speak to Estates about heating controls – make sure staff and patients are not being cooked, and that air conditioning and heating are not set to come on at the same time… 10%? - no sweat.
There are lots of carbon savings to be had from simple measures to improve heating efficiency. Get the ward staff and patients to point out warm or cold areas so that maintenance issues can be sorted out and timers or thermostats adjusted. Are there any areas where heating can be switched off at night or weekends? Here are some recommended temperatures to use as a guide:
(CIBSE, Heating Guide B1) It is surprisingly common to find heating and air conditioning operating at the same time in NHS units. To avoid this, make sure that there is a wide gap (5°C) between the temperatures at which heating goes off and air conditioning comes on.
Low energy lighting, motion sensor light switches and super-efficient fridges are all very good investments for your Trust. But don’t wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn – take matters into your own hands with a ward switch-off campaign! You’ll shed 10% overnight.
Useful posters and stickers may be available from your Trust’s communications team – otherwise you can order some for free from the Carbon Trust: here. Prefer a more personal approach? Try asking the hospital school whether the children can help with some drawings.
Spending less time sitting in cars will make your team fitter and more dynamic! Put up an information board to tell staff about public transport options, cycling incentive schemes, and how much money they could save on parking. Are there changing facilities and secure bike parking? Let everyone know.
Many Trusts have a Green Travel Plan and will be able to help with things like mileage reimbursement, or subsidised bike purchase (the national “Cycle To Work” scheme). There is more info on what is available in the NHS from www.spokes.nhs.uk.
Several staff may already have arrangements for sharing travel to and from work – can the ward help? Arrange shift times to coincide. Encourage new people to take part.
Lift share can be particularly useful out-of-hours when buses are infrequent or darkness makes walking less appealing. Hospital-wide lift-share schemes are often in place but may not be well-used – find out if there’s one you can link into, and ask colleagues what would encourage them to take part. Concern about finishing late unexpectedly can often be a big factor and can be solved with back-up taxi provision. Useful site: www.liftshare.com
A lot of energy goes into making day-to-day items which are used on the wards. Massive carbon cuts can be made by only using what is needed – so poke around your clinical stores and look through the ward order list – do you really use that many urine dipstix?? Speak to colleagues about what is and isn’t needed.
60% of NHS carbon emissions are not from energy or travel but things that the NHS buys in – especially drugs and medical supplies. If consumption of some items on your ward is unexpectedly high, find out whether people are clear about when (and when not) to use them. If there are components of sterile packs which never get used, discuss with the Procurement Department about getting them changed.
You know you’ve been meaning to do it for ages – get those print settings changed to double-sided. An easy tick.
The average NHS Trust wastes £55,000 in un-served meals every year (Audit Commission 2001) – never mind the cost, think of the carbon! Are all your patients given choice of food and portion size before ordering up? Not a drop or morsel wasted? Tick that box.
Producing food (especially meat and dairy) uses loads of carbon: for most households it accounts for even more of the carbon footprint than travel. For practical measures to reduce food waste in the NHS see Food Waste in the NHS
The staff have to eat and drink too – and that jacket potato is going to taste better off a real plate than one about to be chucked in the bin. Get some crockery for the ward and encourage staff to say no to polystyrene containers with their lunch.
If washing up is a problem, an efficient dishwasher could avoid arguments and use less hot water than washing by hand.
If it’s in a yellow (or orange) bag, it’s heading for incineration – another great way to make CO2. Get those newspapers and sterile packets out of there! Recycling bins in all your clinical areas? All used? Tick well-deserved.
Making the stuff we use is where most of the carbon emissions come in, so “Reduce” and “Reuse” are definitely still top of the list (see point 5. “Spring Clean the Stores”)
But even in hospitals, there’s no reason why newspapers, cans and even sterile packaging can’t be recycled. Speak to Estates and Facilities about getting some recycling bins for your ward, including the clinical areas.
And last but not least – keep the clean stuff out of yellow or orange bags! Make sure everyone is clear about Trust policies on what to put in clinical waste, and that there’s somewhere else to put the rest.
Preventative (low carbon!) care is the best sort. Do your elderly patients get help if they are cold at home? Are the diabetics benefiting from a bit of active travel? Do families visiting the ward learn about health benefits of reducing meat, and take away some vegetarian recipes? You’re fantastic.
10. High-carbon lifestyles are so unhealthy they can be treated as a fully-fledged medical syndrome – read up at www.carbonaddict.org and use the 10:10 Decarbonising Care flyer to raise awareness.
Don’t stop there though – see if the ward can provide practical help with cold housing, active travel and vegetarian meals as part of routine care. Get help from the OTs, physios and dieticians.
For information on local energy efficiency programmes, contact the local council or see www.est.org.uk and www.warmfront.co.uk. For help with active travel, try Walking the Way to Health or the Sustrans resources. For another great idea, look up BTCV Green Gyms
