An initiative to make hospital intensive care units (ICUs) more environmentally friendly and updated General Pharmaceutical Council reflect industry commitments to net zero.
The University of Brighton together with the Intensive Care Society, Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, and the UK Critical Care Nursing Alliance are leading an initiative to make hospital intensive care units (ICUs) more environmentally friendly and have launched sustainability guidance.
Called The Intensive Care Environmental Sustainability Recipe Book, it offers practical solutions to help ICUs across the UK reduce their environmental impact. By focusing on energy efficiency, carbon emissions and waste reduction, the guide aims to support hospitals in achieving greener operations.
“The Intensive Care Environmental Sustainability Recipe Book was developed as a collaborative national project using feedback from clinical staff and service users,” explained
Heather Baid, principal lecturer at the University of Brighton’s School of Education, Sport and Health, and who led the project.
“There are recipes for different topics to provide the ingredients and methods for ICUs in the UK to reduce their carbon footprint. ICUs use large amounts of resources and create high volumes of waste causing environmental damage – the Recipe Book is a practical, how-to-guide on maintaining quality care that is good for patients, but in a way that is also good for the planet,” she continued.
This work was funded through SBRI Healthcare, an Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) programme, in partnership with the Health Innovation Network and Greener NHS.
Commitment to net zero
There is a growing focus on sustainability across healthcare. At the same time as the University of Brighton’s project was launched, the General Pharmaceutical Council updated its guidance for the education and training of pharmacists and pharmacist-independent prescribers to reflect commitments to net zero.
“In aligning with our commitment to ensure that individuals receive safe and effective pharmacy care, we acknowledge the pressing challenges posed by the climate crisis and environmental issues. The health and well-being of individuals are inextricably linked to planetary health, making it imperative for us to address and mitigate our environmental impact,” said the organisation’s chief executive Duncan Rudkin.
The updated guidance for the education and training of pharmacists and pharmacist-independent prescribers aims to raise awareness of climate change and environmental sustainability within pharmacy education and training, and encourage providers and pharmacy professionals to build upon work in this area and signpost to relevant resources.
The guidance says that for providers of pharmacy education and training, this can mean considering incorporating environmentally sustainable practices into their curriculums. Providers should consider how their course provision will support future pharmacists to be well informed in relation to environmental factors affecting pharmacy and patients in their care, and that they are equipped with appropriate knowledge, skills, understanding and behaviours to make a positive impact in this area through their practice.
