Sustainability
Upscaling sustainability: nurse leadership key
A new ‘Green Healthcare Leadership Programme’ is driving change across the independent healthcare sector and beyond, by helping nurses to build the skills and confidence they need to deliver sustainable transformation. Louise Frampton reports.
Speaking at the headquarters of the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF), Charlotte McCardle, the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, recently highlighted the vital role nurses have within sustainable healthcare. Climate change will have an “incalculable toll on human health”, she warned, but nurses have an opportunity to help protect our planet – to become “champions of change”. She called for all healthcare sectors to work collaboratively. “We have to tackle climate change with the same vigour and gusto that we show around patient safety. Crucially, I think there is hope. By acting now, we can really make a difference,” she asserted. Her speech was part of the graduation
event of the first Green Healthcare Leadership Programme which celebrated nurse-led initiatives aimed at driving improvements in environmental sustainability. The Florence Nightingale Foundation and Nuffield Health previously announced a multi-year partnership, in 2022, with the launch of the ‘Green Healthcare Leadership Programme’. In the first year, the initiative saw 18 nurses – from the independent sector – each develop a nurse-led quality improvement project. Designed to offer a supportive learning space
to help develop leadership skills, the programme is empowering nurses to influence sustainable practice on the frontline of care. The event, held in London, provided a spotlight on their achievements. The Clinical Services Journal spoke to the
teams behind the programme to learn more about the innovation taking place, the support available to help nurses reduce the carbon
The first nurses to take part in the Green Healthcare Leadership Programme recently celebrated their achievements at the Florence Nightingale Foundation, London.
footprint of their organisations, and the inspiring stories of projects that are currently making an impact. Some of the many initiatives introduced by the nurses, enrolled onto the pilot, included: l Reducing carbon emissions associated with single-use procedure packs.
l Tackling overuse of single-use plastic aprons. l Reducing unnecessary usage of IV sets in oncology.
l Reducing unnecessary sterile equipment in theatre packs.
l CE marking for Begas as a plastic alternative for sterile equipment.
l A move to prescribing greener inhalers. l Eliminating unnecessary use of couch covers (blue/white paper).
l Reducing surgical site infection (which in turn reduces carbon footprint), through improved nutrition.
At the Florence Nightingale Foundation, we hold up a mirror to show our nurses and midwives how incredible they are; that they do have a voice, and that they can challenge and change practice. Lucy Brown, Florence Nightingale Foundation
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I August 2023
The hope is to spread green practice and learning, across the healthcare sector and beyond. Lucy Brown, the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Leadership Development at the Florence Nightingale Foundation, described the impact of the pilot programme as “phenomenal” and “exceeding all our expectations”. “Working with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, we support and empower successful applicants on a transformational leadership journey,” she explained. “It is about giving nurses and midwives a voice to challenge practice and ultimately lead change. Nurses can struggle to have their voices heard and often suffer with imposter syndrome. At the FNF, we hold up a mirror to show our nurses and midwives how incredible they are; that they do have a voice, and that they can challenge and change practice. “Nurses are the largest profession in healthcare – they have great ideas and understand what does and doesn’t work. But often they do not speak up. Our programmes, including the programme with our partner Nuffield Health on sustainability, are about empowering these individuals to lead change back in their organisations, to influence others and manage upwards and across the frontline,” she continued.
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