Last week North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust held its Go Green Go Digital sustainability awareness week which marked the ongoing partnership between the Sustainability Working Group and the Digital Transformation team at the trust.
From 4 to 8 December, various events and activities took place to raise awareness of what the trust is already doing in regards to sustainability and also to encourage staff to learn more about the importance of tackling climate change as individuals and as a wider organisation.
Liz Mellor, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Lead for Sustainability at Combined Healthcare, opened the week with a video sharing her thoughts on the importance of taking the sustainability agenda seriously. This video is available to watch on Combined Healthcare’s YouTube channel or below.
Teams were also provided the opportunity to watch the 2019 Sir David Attenborough documentary ‘Climate Change – The Facts’ (pictured right). This was shown on the digital screens in Lawton House and several colleagues came together to learn more about the science of, and potential solutions to, climate change. These slots provided a good opportunity to set time aside and stimulated important conversations amongst colleagues.
Over the week, there were a range of activities for staff to join, from plant-based food taste testing in Harplands Hospital, facilitated by Serco, to drop-in sessions from the Digital team. These online sessions gave an overview of various digital solutions that the trust has implemented to aid in sustainability such as the Combined Wellbeing Portal and Patient Aide.
There was an emphasis on reduce, re-use, recycle – a central message behind living more sustainably. The trust partnered with Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank and provided a donation point in Harplands Hospital for staff to reduce food waste and instead donate non-perishable food items to those in need.
Several wards at Harplands Hospital got involved with the sustainable Christmas message. Activity workers supported service users to recycle daily objects into festive decorations and created new Christmas cards using cut-outs from old ones, showcasing small steps for a more sustainable Christmas. Some of these creations are pictured below.
On 7 December, Save the Children UK’s Christmas Jumper Day, staff were encouraged to re-use and re-wear their old Christmas jumpers. The fashion industry is a major contributor to global emissions which worsen global warming so re-wearing clothes instead of buying new ones is a more sustainable way to live. A mandala painting workshop took place later during the week. Glass bottles and jars were recycled into festive light and candle holders, using mandala painting techniques.
Last week Combined Healthcare also announced that it is taking steps towards being a greener organisation with its commitment to use only carbon offset paper from its main print supplier. You can read more on the trust website about the partnership with Rowtype Printers Limited and what this means for printed materials at the trust.
John Cousins, Service Manager for the Transformation Management Office, closed the week with a message of thanks for all staff and teams who took part. View John’s closing message here.
For more information about Combined Healthcare’s sustainability commitments click here, and click here for further details on the NHS Long Term Plan.