Agenda item

Report of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust and Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent ICS

System Approach to Climate Change

The Executive Director Partnerships and ICS Senior Responsible Officer for Sustainability provided a report and presentation detailing the wide-ranging programme of change that the NHS was undertaking to address the challenge of climate change.

The committee noted that the NHS had an ambitious target to become net carbon zero by 2045, initially tackling emissions from within the NHS by 2040, and to work with and influence partners in the supply chain to reduce emissions by 2045. The NHS carbon footprint was 5% of the UK total and acute hospitals were the biggest contributor to carbon footprint in the NHS, with primary care a second contributor.

The update captured work that had been done to date, the work currently in progress and the work that would need to be done over the coming years. It was explained that the NHS could not deliver all of these measures in isolation and would require the support of, and ability to work with, a wide range of partners across Staffordshire including Local Authorities at both upper and lower tier level.

Each ICS was required to produce a plan, the Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System (ICS) Green Plan (the plan) was in place by 31st March 2022 and a webinar launch was planned in May 2022, which Members would be invited join.

An ICS work group had been formed to bring forward ideas to develop delivery of the plan and it was noted that ICS was in conversation with Staffordshire County Council about adding the NHS voice to the recently formed Staffordshire Sustainability Board.

The main areas of focus and timelines for the Green Plan were outlined and a case study – ‘keep well keep warm’ was given to demonstrate how investment in solar panels at hospitals in Staffordshire had generated a return which had been invested in a local charity ‘Beat the cold’ to address issues that had an impact on the health of residents.

Committee noted the following comments and responses to questions:

·       In relation to forty new hospitals to be built in the UK as part of the government’s Health Infrastructure Plan, it was not yet known if a net zero hospital was to be built in Staffordshire. However, it was confirmed that new estates guidance would apply to all new NHS buildings to ensure they would be net zero or contribute towards becoming net zero.

·       In relation to the retrofit of NHS buildings scheme, there would be a review of the NHS estate to establish the baseline position, bring forward a programme of works and as part of that give consideration to optimising estate and how to address issues such as energy efficiency moving forward.

·       Anchor Institution Approach – In the NHS long term plan there were commitments for the NHS to pursue, one about sustainability and one about anchor institutions approach, anchor institutions were routed in communities, such as Local Authorities and Universities that tended to employ in the community, provide services in the community and also procure services locally in the community.The NHS was exploring how these two programmes could work together and were in the early stages of bringing them together.

·       In relation to procurement guidelines, all suppliers had to provide a 10% social value weighting to demonstrate how they could better meet the aims and objectives of NHS organisations. Members understood there was also a West Midlands Anchor network being established and each NHS organisation was developing plans but at this time no timeline or targets were set. An update on the Anchor Institution Approach would be brought back to the Committee in the 2022-23 work programme.

·       Keep well keep warm’ case study – concerns about fuel poverty were raised and the need for contingency plans. It was acknowledged that there were challenges to some estate and that the wider determinants of health such as financial health, access to employment, secure housing etc should be considered; there was more work to do here with partners. There would be a scrutiny session on the wider determinants of health in June 2022.

·       Concern was raised whether targets would be deliverable by 2040 as well as delivering NHS services. Members were assured that the plan would not be carried out in isolation, work with partner organisations was underway and relationships were being developed. Teams were in place to deal with sustainability in organisations and they would work to prioritise who leads on what. There were good examples in the NHS to build on such as use of anaesthetic gas - which was very specific for NHS to resolve; and there was broader work such as electric vehicle (EV) charging points - where public infrastructure would need to be looked at in partnership. Delivery in general was about ability to work in partnership, it was also key to keep watch on national funding routes to tap into and expedite progress. Members welcomed local services for local people to reduce carbon footprint.

·       Engagement with partners – feedback from surveys gave recognition of climate change as a global emergency with an impact on health. nine out of ten hottest years were recorded in the last decade. Although the priority for many was to return to normality following the pandemic, it was recognised that there was work to be done on the case for change and also to work with colleagues about the individual decisions that individual people make on a daily basis.

·       The carbon load of each NHS organisation was known by the NHS and there was a range of sustainability champions looking at how to deliver change in the setting they were based in. To understand more about what residents in Staffordshire feel, there was a need to tap into work from Staffordshire and Keele universities and to work with Local Authorities.

·       It was understood that the report reflected on work to date, work in progress and future plans and that there was more work to do on the milestone targets and timelines in the plan. Other changes and steps that needed to happen such as the procurement plan in 2023/24 had to be built in, as well as adding in partners ambitions and timelines for net zero.The linked deliverables and dependencies, where things that needed to be in place before others could progress were outlined in the plan. 

The Chairman welcomed the detail in the report and presentation and the NHS commitment to net zero by 2040. He acknowledged that a plan and some milestones were in place and that ongoing discussion would inform and evolve the plan through the years to 2040.

Resolved:

1)  that Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee note the two supporting targets for the NHS in achieving its commitment to net zero by 2050:

i.            The NHS Carbon Footprint: for the emissions we control directly, to be net zero by 2040

ii.          The NHS Carbon Footprint Plus: for the emissions we can influence, to be net zero by 2045.

2)  That Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee note the plans the NHS has brought forward to address the challenge of climate change across the areas of focus as outlined in the report.