The Darwin Centre, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust’s inpatient site for young people, was proud to recently launch its new ‘Darwin Go Green’ QI (Quality Improvement) project in line with the Trust’s sustainability initiatives.
As part of the official launch, the staff and young people got involved with baking cakes, designing and creating a cardboard tree to cut and stick sustainability pledge leaves to and creating a display in the reception area at the site. It is clear to see that all the staff and young people at the Darwin Centre are really enthusiastic about the sustainability focus and the young people have been getting really involved with all the activities.
Both L and H, young people who are currently staying at the Darwin Centre, expressed their excitement about the launch:
“I really enjoyed making the cakes for the Darwin Go Green launch and I think it’s important to think about how we can be more sustainable in everyday life.” – L
“I’m going to research whether environmentally friendly football boots exist as I think it’s important to consider the planet in all kinds of decisions, even when you’re shopping!” – H
The team and young people will be making two sustainable swaps in order to reduce the single use plastic waste they generate. The new cups for the water fountain are made from recycled plastic which can also be recycled once used and dried, as well as changing to paper medicine pots which can be more easily recycled than the previous ones. As well as these easy swaps, which come at no extra cost to the Trust, they are continuing to raise awareness about climate change, the planet and living in a more sustainable way.
Lisa Nagington, Quality Improvement Lead Nurse at the Darwin Centre, is passionate about sharing the sustainability enthusiasm with the young people:
“The Darwin Centre is one of my areas of responsibility as Quality Improvement Lead Nurse for the Specialist Directorate. I noticed an obvious way we could teach the young people here about the planet and sustainability initiatives to help prevent climate change, along with more of a focus on energy efficiency at the site. These young people are the future of the planet so it’s important that we are doing what we can to educate them to have an awareness of how we can all be more sustainable in everyday life.”
Within Combined Healthcare, we are committed to sustainability and carbon reduction, aiming to decrease our Trust’s impact on the environment whilst providing outstanding patient care and working environments. Sustainability also forms one of the key enablers in the Trust’s Strategy 2023 – 2028, which you can find out more about here.
