Healthcare professionals are calling for greater action within healthcare to help address the climate emergency and meet the NHS goal of being net zero by 2045.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland say many staff are eager to deliver a greener NHS but evidence on the ground ‘is not always consistent with those ambitions’.

A Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy for the health service in Scotland that was first scheduled to be published in 2020 has been delayed until later this year.

The Scottish government now say it plans to produce a draft for consultation before the end of the year, according to the BBC.

Ministers are also promising a range of commitments on building design and transport emissions.

Dr Marion Slater, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, which is a member of the Scottish Academy, says she “definitely feels optimistic” the NHS will meet the ambitious goals.

Dr Slater told healthandcare.scot: “A recent examination of CO₂ equivalent emissions in the NHS estimates that these have reduced by 26% from 1990 to 2019 and this is a world-leading achievement.

“There’s still an awful lot to do, however. And much of that reduction in NHs C0₂ emissions has been the decarbonisation of energy more nationally.

“But there’s still many things we can do and there’s a huge amount of work ongoing already that the college supports.”

A particular focus is to reduce the environmental impact of medicines, which contribute to around 25% of total NHS carbon emissions.

It is one of the areas identified by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland in a statement released today.

Solutions include avoiding unnecessary prescribing and diagnostic tests.

In response to concerns about potential effects on patient care, Dr Slater said: “It’s an important balance, but the fundamental issue is that global warming and climate change have a serious impact on the health of the population around the world, and is responsible for an excess in deaths around the world, including Scotland.

“Any move to improve our decarbonation measures and work toward net zero is only going to improve the health of our population.”

The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland has previously said the NHS is a ‘significant contributor’ to the climate emergency and the organisation has a ‘moral obligation’ to tackle climate change.

The government has already selected three boards that are piloting a route to net zero.

Dr Slater says actions taken at an individual level can “make an enormous difference”.

Video technology, electronic notes and waste reduction are additional areas the Scottish Academy want to see prioritised at every level of the healthcare.

Their statement ends: ‘While the Scottish Academy notes the Scottish Government’s and NHS’ current efforts on climate change, it believes that changes on the ground need to happen for any impact to be made – and that governance of sustainability activities must be robust to ensure progress.

‘The healthcare community in Scotland is concerned about the current and future impact of climate change on population health – and they stand ready and willing to do their bit to reduce healthcare’s carbon footprint.’

A Scottish government spokesperson told the BBC: "We are confident that NHS Scotland will meet its target of becoming a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions service by 2045 at the latest.

"Depending on wider progress with decarbonisation of electricity and gas networks, the target may be achieved earlier."

 

Read more: NHS ‘significant contributor’ to climate emergency; Social care “crucial pillar” of green recovery;

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