Embedding sustainability into primary care Ealing

Title:

How Ealing Borough Primary Care Team embedded sustainability in primary care.

Summary:

Aim of the project: To inspire GP practices to reduce their environmental impact and improving the health and well-being of their patient population.

Setting of the project: General practice, Ealing, London.

What was the problem? GPs are aware that a ‘climate emergency’ is a ‘health emergency’, but many do not make the connection with clinical practice and many fail to realise that the majority of a general practice’s carbon footprint results from clinical activity.

Challenges: Time constraints/capacity, communications.

Solutions: Ealing Borough Primary Care Team implemented a Green Initiative spec which included identification of a practice ‘Green’ champion and sign up for 5 or more activities, focusing on inhaler changes, green travel, efficient appointment timings, recycling, and medicine usage.

Communication included simple, bite-size tips, e-mails and the ‘Ealing Greener Practice’ WhatsApp group.

Tips and achievements were uploaded to the ‘local groups’ section (subsection ‘Ealing’)3 on the national GreenerPractice website4, to share our learnings with the wider UK’s primary care sustainability network.

Key learning points:

The primary care plays a key role in driving behavioural changes.

Every opportunity must be taken to link health problems with climate change during consultations.

Outcomes:

Environmental:

64 practices completed the Green initiatives

8 practices completed the Green Impact for Health Toolkit.

CSH support

Attendance at CSH Foundation-level course

Key contacts:

• Name: Dr Vasumathy Sivarajasingam
• Role: GP partner at Hillview Surgery, West London; NWL Primary Care Clinical Lead – Ealing Borough: Green Agenda/Adult Mental Health/Patient Engagement
• Email: vasusiva@nhs.net
• Location & NHS Region if within the UK: NWL ICB, Ealing Borough, UK

Source:

Original source of data (if published elsewhere):

Going Greener! The story of our success – BJGP Life