Developing new ways to help the NHS dramatically cut its carbon footprint will be the focus of a new UK-wide hub led by the University of Exeter and funded by £6.5 million in government awards.
The new funding is from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Overall, they are investing £42 million on seven hubs, each facing a difference net zero challenge.
The new health and social care pathways hub brings together a range of university and healthcare partners throughout the UK, to tackle the challenge of helping the NHS become environmentally sustainable, and to help meet its legal obligation to become net zero by 2045. The NHS has already made good progress in reducing its own carbon footprint, with emissions directly in their control on course for an 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030,. However, emissions have actually increased from travel, waste and from companies who make drugs, devices and supplies used by hospitals and care facilities.
Hub director Ed Wilson, Professor of Health Economics and Health Policy at the University of Exeter said: "We're delighted to receive this funding, which recognises our strong partnerships with the NHS, and our commitment to a greener, fairer and healthier society. We'll be looking at a patient's journey through the NHS and social care, finding where the carbon hotspots are and seeing what we can do to make them carbon neutral. This isn't just about reducing travel and unnecessary waste, but about helping the NHS' suppliers – the companies who make our drugs, medical devices and everyday items like swabs, sheets and hospital gowns – to redesign their processes to reduce carbon emissions."
The new collaborative, officially entitled 'UK Hub for One Health Systems: Creating Sustainable Health and Social Care Pathways' is just the latest initiative led from the University of Exeter to both tackle the health effects of global heating and to help achieve an environmentally sustainable health economy.
The University already boasts the long-established European Centre for Environment and Human Health, based in Penryn. Recently, government research arms have invested in innovative new centres to accelerate progress on new innovations around health and the environment. These include a new Biomedical Research Centre and a new Healthtech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation, both NIHR-funded partnerships with the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Exeter is also the lead on the UKRI-funded partnership Centre for Net Positive Health and Climate Solutions.
Core organisations in the new Hub include; the Royal Devon University NHS Foundation Trust; the James Hutton Institute NHS Highland; Cornwall Partners NHS Foundation Trust; Glasgow Caledonian University; Edinburgh University; the Institute of Cancer Research, London; Queen's University Belfast; the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland; the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; the University of Aberdeen; the University of Liverpool; the University of South Wales; Volunteer Cornwall; and Getting it Right First Time, an NHS England programme designed to improve treatment and care.
Adrian Harris, Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Devon, said: "We're pleased that this exciting initiative has received this funding. The new Net-Zero Hub will create increased opportunities for an environmentally sustainable national healthcare service through cutting-edge research and ground-breaking innovation. Being a key partner in this project allows us to further strengthen our relationship with the University of Exeter and is another step toward establishing the Royal Devon as a pioneer in innovation; fitting well with our established, NIHR-funded infrastructure, including the Healthcare Research Centre of Sustainable Innovation."
Beth Chapman, Consultant Psychiatrist from Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, supported the bid application. She said: "It's essential that mental health systems reduce carbon footprints to promote healthy populations within a healthy planet. We, at Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, are excited to be collaborating with this esteemed and diverse team to lead the way in such an important field. Fundamental to the hub's approach is bringing patients with us, helping us to design-out carbon from care pathways so we have a health service that not only provides the best possible care for patients today, but a healthy environment for the health of future generations tomorrow."
How bladder cancer review is cutting carbon footprint
The new hub builds on an existing model of success developed by the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme in conjunction with national partners and with clinical support in Exeter. The hub will take forward a pilot GIRFT toolkit for making care pathways more environmentally sustainable. The GIRFT programme, a key partner in this hub, has reviewed patient pathways for bladder cancer and identified opportunities to mitigate their environmental impact. This includes reducing the length of hospital stay by increasing day case rates, same day (one-stop) assessment to avoid multiple appointments for patients, minimising use of environmentally harmful anaesthetic gases and minimising waste in operating theatres.
As part of the work of the hub, the GIRFT team will liaise with hospital teams to highlight the opportunities with the highest impact in reducing the carbon footprint of the bladder cancer pathway. It is hoped this work will inform hospital green plans and support the NHS in reaching its net zero commitment by 2045.
In one example the project identified that patients who experience the common bladder cancer symptom of blood in urine could have a one-stop assessment , instead of multiple appointments each requiring its own journey to hospital/ This would mean that upper tract ultrasound, clinical assessment and an examination of the bladder and urethra all take place during the same hospital visit. This has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 237 tonnes CO2e across England annually, as well as ensuring patients get a same-day diagnosis and spend fewer days visiting hospital.
Other carbon savings estimates include:
· 378 tonnes CO2e could be saved across the NHS annually if hospitals delivered at least 80% of bladder tumour resections as day-case surgery.
· 397 tonnes CO2e could be saved annually through avoiding some commonly used but unnecessary items in cystoscopy procedure rooms, in which clinicians examine the bladder.
Through the research hub, GIRFT will be able to test and improve the approach to decarbonising care pathways for numerous different health conditions. Together, the hub and
GIRFT will develop eight patient pathway decarbonisation guides within urology and the trauma and orthopaedics specialties, aimed at supporting hospital trusts to lower the NHS carbon footprint while delivering high quality care for patients.
Five challenge areas
Alongside the healthcare challenge, the £42million government investment will also fund hubs to make impact in:
• Transport and the built environment • The indoor environment • Sustainable diets • Extreme weather
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR said: "Climate change is a major threat to public health, both now and for future generations. These high-impact research hubs will contribute to protecting people's health against the impact of climate change, realising the health benefits of a net zero transition and reducing health inequalities." UKRI funding comes through its Building a Green Future strategic theme and from the Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council. The UKRI Building a Green Future strategic theme aims to boost the green economy by supporting research that helps the UK reach net zero by 2050.
The NIHR is also investing into research on human health and climate change including air pollution, vector borne diseases and environmental change and health. This additional investment supports its commitment to fund research to decarbonise health and care and the NIHR's overall strategy on climate and health. The NIHR published its first set of public commitments on climate, health and sustainability in 2024.
