July 2020
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference will discuss key issues for environmental sustainability in healthcare.
Areas for discussion include:
- the practicalities and impact of policy implementation, including targets set out in the NHS long term plan - especially at a time of unprecedented pressure on NHS organisations and staff
- engaging healthcare professionals and the supply chain
- best practice across local systems, procurement and commissioning frameworks
- the role of industry in reducing carbon emissions and lowering their carbon footprint, and opportunities for utilising technology and innovative research
Why this is relevant now: the context:
- The drive to reduce carbon emissions and waste becoming a central policy focus across government and public services, with:
- NHS Long Term Plan environmental sustainability targets focussing on waste, water, and carbon emissions - with measures to:
- bring down the carbon footprint of the NHS by a third from 2007 levels by 2020
- better manage the NHS estate
- lower the use of single-use plastics and ensure NHS bodies adopt new innovations
- modernise ambulances to help improve air quality by reducing emissions
- NHS England’s For a Greener NHS campaign - with its dashboard recently gone live - to help the NHS meet net-zero targets - and the setting up of the NHS Net Zero Expert Panel
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership becoming the first two NHS bodies to declare a climate change emergency and making a number of commitments toward improvements
The discussion in detail:
- How to work with under-pressure NHS organisations and workforces to implement sustainability measures in the Long Term Plan across the supply chain, including:
- preventative measures and how they can be promoted
- ensuring patient safety and care quality is maintained
- sustainable procurement and commissioning frameworks
- opportunities arising from environmentally sustainable practices - such as health benefits, and financial and efficiency savings
- alignment with wider policy initiatives such as the Clean Air Strategy for England - which includes working with health professionals to embed air quality into education and training
- Measuring improvement and sharing best practice across local systems, looking at:
- progress in developing a Sustainable Healthcare Dashboard to deliver targets in the NHS Long Term Plan and create local reports in order to:
- measure improvements
- demonstrate financial and carbon savings
- provide an opportunity to share best practice
- the experience of the first two NHS bodies to declare a climate change emergency, and implementation of commitments toward improvements - with discussion expected on:
- progress of these systems in promoting environmental sustainability in their local areas and embedding sustainable practices
- working with local partners and empowering staff to deliver changes
- Engaging healthcare professionals to promote environmentally sustainable practices and developing sustainable care models - including priorities for:
- reducing unnecessary prescriptions
- switching to more environmentally friendly products, such as lower carbon inhalers
- cutting the amount of paper used by digitising patient records
- The role of industry in reducing carbon emissions and lowering their carbon footprint - including:
- encouraging community and remote care
- implementing sustainable measures to reduce emissions, energy, and waste
- Opportunities for utilising the experience of responding to COVID-19, including:
- technology and innovative research, development and manufacturing practices
- the short-term impact of the use of single use PPE on environmental goals
- the future capacity for delivering environment targets in light of extra commitments to responding to COVID-19
- moves towards greater numbers of people cycling and walking
- the development of remote clinical services
The agenda:
- Key issues for environmental sustainability in healthcare, responding to the changing landscape post COVID-19
- Priorities for the NHS Net Zero Expert Panel and next steps towards carbon neutral
- Sustainability and Health Technology Assessment
- Incentives and drivers for change - the role and potential of remote services and innovative service delivery, commissioning, procurement, and efficiency improvements
- Measuring local progress and the role of new models of care - developing metrics, leadership. and comparing financial and carbon savings
- Next steps for creating environmentally sustainable health systems - patient and staff safety, innovation and cross-sector collaboration:
- Public health return on investment from addressing climate change and promoting prevention
- Engaging healthcare professionals and the impact on patient care, quality, and safety
- Reducing the carbon footprint of the life sciences industry
- Water use, waste management and ensuring safety in disposal and collection during the pandemic
- Developing decision support tools for energy management in the health sector
Policy officials attending:
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders.
It’s certainly the case with this one. Places have been reserved by officials from DHSC; Defra; MHCLG; the Office of Government Property; Ofwat; Crown Commercial Service; the Department for Education; and the Department for International Trade.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
