Improving our air quality at UHP
In spite of the turbulence, worry and isolation that accompanied England’s Covid lockdowns in 2020, the drop in air pollution was most welcome. Those of us who live in built up areas will be familiar with encountering soot in our handkerchiefs after a bout of hay fever, but we remember how the lockdowns had our cars safely stowed away for essential trips only, and our city seemed to breathe a sigh of relief in response.
In these current post-covid times, that clean air is all but a distant memory, but UHP is determined to do all it can to clean up the air around the hospital. Cleaner air is beneficial to the health of patients and staff; some pollutant particles such as Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are small enough to inhale and they cause significant harm when breathed in. Such particulates are known to cause inflammation of the lungs, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma and irritation to the nose and throat lining. Ultimately, for our most poorly patients, inhalation of these chemicals could be fatal. The particulates and harmful gasses damage the environment as well as our bodies; the particles travel over long distances and settle on water sources, soil, crops, and forests which in turn harms local wildlife and our naturally beautiful green spaces. As climate change and air pollution often have a common root source, putting preventative measures in place to stop air pollution also benefits the climate- with all this considered, taking this bull by the horns seems to us a no-brainer!
As Nitrogen Dioxide is known to be emitted into the atmosphere from cars and vans, UHP has worked hard to encourage staff to walk or cycle to work or use public transport. Indeed, the hospital is due to get a Beryl bike site with the aim of encouraging people to use the electrically powered bikes to get to and from work. These efforts are aligned with UHP’s Green Plan which sets out to achieve a 20% reduction in the Trust’s carbon footprint by 2025. As a whole, the NHS has set ambitious sustainability targets, recognising the need as an organisation to act responsibly, reduce climate impact and to ensure sustainable systems are in place going forward.
The Trust takes these targets seriously and has recently purchased four Earthsense air quality monitors in order to gather information on the causes, roots and hotspots of air pollution on our site. These monitors are situated outside the main entrance on level 6, ED reception, Estates car park and the level 2 goods in area. Once we have a better understanding of where the largest concentrations of particulates are around the estate, we can get stuck in to work with suppliers, patients and staff to put clean air initiatives and pollution prevention schemes in place.
As an organisation, UHP strives to become a Clean Air Hospital through these efforts, but we can’t do it without the help of our staff and patients: why not ask a colleague if they’d be happy to car share, or hop on one of the many buses that wind up at Derriford? These relatively minor changes will tally up if we all chip in, after all as Greta Thunberg says, “no one is too small to make a difference”.
