June 20th is national Clean Air Day, organised every year by Global Action Plan.
We are asking all NHS staff to help celebrate it in two ways:
- Add your voice to the call for more sustainable healthcare, that is ways of delivering care that help reduce carbon pollution, so we can demonstrate that this is something that really matters to our staff. Just visit carewithoutcarbon.org to do this.
- If you can, change one car journey for work to a less carbon heavy alternative. This could be a car share to a meeting, cycling to a patient visit, or walking to work for the day, or getting the train or bus if distance is an issue.
Why it matters?
We know that air pollution is impacting our health, with links to cancer, heart disease, dementia, and respiratory issues. In our region we are seeing higher than average levels of air pollution, so any changes we can make that help reduce that pollution help to keep us, our patients and our communities healthier.
Currently 1 in 20 vehicles on our roads are on NHS business, so reducing that will go a long way in tackling poor air quality.
Case Study
Check out Scott, one of our Zero Heroes for how he chooses to travel for work.
Or read about Ralph in Primary Care, who is supporting patients to choose active travel.
Find out about how Sussex Partnership are tackling lower carbon travel in our Ideas Hub.