A long-awaited sustainability strategy for the NHS in Scotland has been published after a two-year delay.

The document sets target to move to a net zero health service to 2040, bringing forward by five years the previous aim of 2045.

This will involve work to modernise the NHS estate, with all new buildings and major refurbishments designed to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a re-think of some clinical practice.

The Scottish government admits that there is a ‘lack of consistency’ in existing data on the health service’s impact on the environment, covering everything from patient travel to waste disposal, as well as a ‘major gap’ in understanding the carbon footprint of the NHS supply chain.

From 2022 all NHS boards will be required to report on emissions across key activity areas in annual progress reports.

Speaking today at a sustainability conference, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said healthcare professionals have a “moral obligation” to help tackle climate change.

Some 80% of the health service’s carbon footprint can be directly apportioned to clinical choices, the Scottish government estimates, and Dr Smith said much of the historical increases in NHS activity were down to “clinician-led demand”.

“Our over-investigation and over-treatment is wasting our precious healthcare resources and it’s consuming our natural resources,” he told the NHS Scotland 2021 sustainability conference.

“…[it’s] leading to lower value and sometimes futile treatments, more potential harm and more patient regret. There’s never been a more important time to change the way we practice”.

The CMO hailed widespread use of Near Me for virtual consultations during the pandemic, which he said had been estimated to save more than 28 million miles of travel a year.

Across the UK health services are making net zero pledges, with England promising a deadline of 2045 and Wales setting a public sector-wide goal to be collectively net zero 2030.

The Scottish government is adamant that the NHS in Scotland should reach its goal by making changes to how it operates rather than using offsets such as buying carbon credits or planting trees.  

Today’s climate and sustainability strategy for NHS Scotland, which is open for consultation for three months, covers 2022 to 2026.

It was first mooted in 2019 when health service chief executives committed to a net zero target by 2045. Publication was set for early 2020 but pushed back because of the pandemic.

Along with NHS Scotland chief operating officer John Burns, Dr Smith is to co-chair a new group overseeing implementation.

Health and Care Secretary Humza Yousaf said the Scottish government was committed to create a health service that was “environmentally and socially sustainable”.

Last week NHS Lanarkshire outlined a net zero vision for the new Monklands Hospital, which is set to open in 2028.

Read more: NHS has “awful lot to do” to meet green targets; Social care “crucial pillar” of green recovery; CMO: Improve health by fixing welfare and education

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