Greener Allied Health Professionals Week- a belated post!
20 to 24 April was Greener Allied Health Professionals week!
The week is a chance to shine a light on the specific ways AHPs can make changes in their specific roles. AHP is an umbrella term for a variety of healthcare roles that work alongside nurses and doctors to deliver a holistic care approach. NHS England defines the following roles as AHPs:
According to the Greener Allied Health Professional hub , many key areas for change identified within the Delivering a Net Zero NHS report are within AHPs’ scope of practice and influence, such as equipment, models of care and food.
Moreover, many AHPs already focus on interventions which keep people healthy and reduce their need to access healthcare services, which in turn helps to reduce carbon emissions through reduced healthcare activity. Examples include self-management, admissions avoidance, falls prevention, faster recovery, and earlier discharge.
The talk titles are listed below:
-
Consensus on profession specific carbon reduction priorities, Tuesday 21 April 2026
-
Chief AHP Officer, spotlight conversation with Chris Gormley, Chief Sustainability Officer, Wednesday 22 April 2026
-
Carbon calculator session, Thursday 23 April
-
Digital sustainability session, Friday 24 April
At UHP we’re proud to have a number of Greener AHPs who work on various sustainability projects. Claire, one of our Dieticians has commenced a project around recycling nutritional supplement bottles. This is important because every bottle we recycle helps reduce clinical waste, cuts carbon emissions, and reduces the impact on the environment. It’s a simple step that protects resources, saves money, and shows we care for our patients and our planet.
We’re asking staff to do the following with used nutritional bottles:
-
Remove the foil seal - Peel it off and discard in general waste
-
Rinse the bottle - A quick rinse removes any residue
-
Recycle in the recycling bin
After our staff do their bit, the bottles are sent to the recycling facility to be sorted, cleaned, and turned into new plastic products, reducing the need for virgin materials.
For more information, contact the Sustainability team plh-tr.sustainability@nhs.net
