Here at Fairfield Medical Practice, we are concerned with what is happening to our planet, given the Climate Emergency the world is facing.
The NHS is responsible for at least 5% of the UK's carbon footprint, so it is really time that we all think about what we can change to reduce that carbon footprint.
Last year, we signed up to the Green Impact for Health scheme that the Royal College of General Practitioners runs. This involves looking at all aspects of the way we run our practice, from electricity and water use to how we prescribe medicines. It is a big project but we are keen to minimise our impact on the environment.
A few examples of the steps which are underway are:
- Using a renewable energy company to minimise our carbon footprint through energy use- this has been the case for a few years now
- Promoting the use of cycling for staff and patients. You may have noticed us arriving via e-bike on home visits.
- An inhaler project to minimise the use of the inhalers with the highest carbon footprint where it is appropriate, this is ongoing.
- We try to minimise practice waste and segregate as much as possible
Please see the section on Sustainable Healthcare in our created Health "Padlet"- a resource we have created for patients to access helpful links about their health. In it there is good information on medicines waste, the impact of inhalers and also a section on active health. This can be found at https://padlet.com/FairfieldMedical/Bookmarks.
This project will be ongoing and if you have any good ideas please do share them with us as we are keen to be as sustainable as possible.