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August 2012
The Office for National Statistics reports on progress in its Measuring National Well-being programme and the domains and measures for assessing well-being. Alongside the results the ONS has published articles exploring in more detail the impact of where we live and our health on our sense of well-being. An interactive tool allows comparisons of subjective well-being of residents in specific areas in the UK, including regions, countries and local authority areas. Visit the Defra website for more information.
A dedicated website has just been launched to help reduce medicines waste. Medicine Waste.com helps patients to get the most from their medicines and provides information adn resources (poster etc) to help GPs, pharmacists and other NHS staff to spread the word. Visit the website for more information.
July 2012
This guidance, released in July 2012, has been written in collaboration with partners including the Department of Health (DH), the Environment Agency, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Climate UK. Its aim is to summarise the current knowledge on adapting to climate change in NHS organisations. It describes what climate change adaptation is, why it is a priority for the NHS and how organisations can include adaptation in their Sustainable Development Management Plans (SDMPs). Visit the SDU website to access the guidance, or see the PDF
Defra is developing a new set of sustainable development indicators to meet the Government’s commitments to transparency and sustainable development, and is carrying out an informal consultation for 12 weeks from 24th July 2012. The indicators are intended to provide an overview of the UK’s progress towards a more sustainable economy, society, and environment. The indicators are intended to provide an overview of national progress on key issues that are important economically, socially and environmentally in the long term. Read the consultation document and complete survey
The Big Green Bundle is a great tool to help engage people with reducing carbon emissions. Developed by the Low Carbon Partnership in Cheltenham, it brings together all of the best practice guidance of in-house staff engagement campaigns which will support you in reducing CO2 emissions. It categorises people, for example, into ‘concerned consumers’ and ‘honestly disengaged’ and identifies the techniques which best work with each group of people. It is a generic tool, but will work in healthcare organisations. Take a look at the "Big Green Bundle".
‘Reuniting health with planning: healthier homes, healthier communities’ handbook reflects the Government’s reform agenda across the planning and health sectors, including a requirement on planners to work with public health organisations, and a new public health responsibility for local authorities. It explains the relevance of these reforms for health and planning, and gives planners and public health practitioners ideas for how they can work together. The handbook aims to keep the importance of integrated working, specifically between planning and health, on the agenda. Visit the TCPA website for more information, where you can also download presentations from the launch events.
The NHS SDU has recently published a practical tool to help NHS organisations think through how they build staff, public and patient engagement into their work on sustainability. This Guide provides practical advice, suggestions for action, examples of good practice and evidence of what works. It brings together the learning and evidence of good engagement and experience from a variety of healthcare organisations, including emerging clinical commissioning groups across the country. Visit the SDU website to access the guide, which is divided into 9 sections for ease of use.
This study is an exploration of how far social justice is considered in local adaptations to climate change across the UK. The findings are relevant for all bodies operating at this level whose climate change adaptation activities affect vulnerable communities. The study provides insight into how social justice can be incorporated into adaptation planning. For more information and to read the full report, visit the Joseph Roundtree Foundation website.
‘Planning for a healthy environment: good practice for green infrastructure and biodiversity’, has been published by The Wildlife Trusts and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), in partnership with a wide range of organisations. It provides guidance for practitioners to ensure nature is taken into account when shaping local areas.
A Lancet report explores the potential effect of increased walking and cycling in urban England and Wales on costs to the NHS for seven diseases that are associated with physical inactivity (type 2 diabetes, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, depression, and ischaemic heart disease). Overall findings conclude that if people cycled and walked more, the NHS could save £17billion within 20 years. Visit the Lancet website to read the full article (access is free, but you need to sign in).
June 2012
The Environment Agency (EA) have launched new web pages and an online helpdesk providing further information on the service and advice and guidance on the impacts of climate change and how to plan for them. Visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready to find out more and sign up to the new e-bulletin for the latest updates on Defra’s Climate Ready work on the national adaptation programme and the new Climate Ready support service.
May 2012
The HSJ Awards are back for its 31st year. The HSJ Awards exist to ensure that individuals or teams are both recognised and rewarded for work that raises the standard of health care in the UK. The Awards also raise the profile of your organisation, highlighting the quality of work being undertaken by all specialties and settings.
The Heatwave Plan for England, has been updated and reissued on 18 May 2012 to raise both public and professional awareness. A copy of the Plan, the accompanying factsheets for staff, care home managers and a public information leaflet is available on the DH website. The Plan’s purpose is to enhance resilience in the event of a heatwave. It is an important component of overall emergency planning and will become increasingly relevant in adapting to the impact of climate change.
The NHS SDU has been working with patients and carers to improve sustainability in the NHS - slides from a recent workshop are available at the SDU website. A toolkit is in development - check back for updates.
In what is the first Europe-wide assessment of urban vulnerability to climate change, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found that cities are not sufficiently resilient to climate change. The study also found that the cost of dealing with climate impacts will be greatly reduced if early adaptation actions are implemented. Read the full report HERE
The SDU would like your help to improve the Good Corporate Citizenship tool (GCC). The GCC tool is a way for NHS organisations and their stakeholders to measure and benchmark how they are progressing on sustainability. To improve the GCC, please take part in a short consultation which will help make it an even more useful tool for you and your colleagues. The consultation closes on the 27th June.
The 2012 Building Better Healthcare Awards will recognise excellence in productivity, patient outcomes and patient experience by the people, built environment and technology that will help define and inspire the future of our healthcare. Visit the website for more information. Applications are now open (close 30 June).
The Government must develop a joined-up strategy to change the UK's unhealthy and environmentally damaging food system, as fears mount about global food security, MPs on the Commons Environmental Audit Committee warn. This includes a recommendation that Government Buying Standards for food must be improved on meat and dairy and extended to cover hospitals, prisons and schools
The Government has published its Heat Strategy, setting out a vision of how to cut emissions from heating homes, businesses and industry in the decades ahead. The Heat Strategy builds on the Government’s 2011 Carbon Plan which set out plans to meet the fourth carbon budget of a 50% cut in emissions by the mid-2020s. For more information visit the defra SD website.
April 2012
There has been another important update to the CRC. The latest simplified guidance from the Environment Agency highlights the steps required before allowances can be surrendered at the end of July. Each of the steps depend on the earlier steps being completed and some of these may take some time so we recommend you complete this by the 16th July to allow for any delays in the system. Take a look at the summary of steps.