Positively Green

The current heatwave has been another clear reminder that climate change is shaping the way we work in the NHS right now. These extreme temperatures aren’t rare spikes anymore, they’re becoming our new normal, and hospitals like ours feel the impact quickly. Older parts of the estate, built for a very different climate, simply can’t keep up. Thick walls trap heat, ventilation struggles, and once a ward or corridor warms up, it stays warm long into the evening. Staff feel it, patients feel it, and services feel it.

Nitrous oxide has been used in hospitals for more than 250 years, but the way we use and supply it is changing. Many people know it as “laughing gas”, but what’s less well known is that it has a much higher environmental impact than other medical gases. Because of this, the NHS is working nationally to modernise how nitrous oxide is provided and to reduce any unnecessary waste.

During the excitement of the CDC opening, our lead CT Radiographer Colin invited GE Healthcare to come down to Plymouth to take part in a litter pick.

Clean Air Day takes place every year on 18th June to highlight the health risks that poor air quality poses. By cleaning up our air, we can all benefit from immediate and lasting health improvements, and help ensure that future generations can live happier, healthier lives.

Derriford Hospital Theatres have made a simple but meaningful change to the way we prepare patients’ skin before surgery. We’ve moved from single‑use ChloraPrep applicators to Prevantics Red, a bottled antiseptic solution that uses the same trusted ingredients recommended by national guidelines.

In healthcare, even small changes can make a big impact. At Derriford Hospital, that change is happening through a growing initiative in our theatres, a project dedicated to reducing waste and increasing the recycling of single‑use surgical equipment...

New bins now in place in Derriford's theatres are designed specifically to capture soft plastics and paper at the point of use in anaesthetic rooms. These areas generate large volumes of clean, recyclable materials that too often end up in clinical waste. By making recycling easy and accessible, we’re reducing unnecessary incineration, cutting carbon, and supporting more sustainable clinical practice.

On 21^st May, the Sustainability team celebrated our Green Impact 2025/26 award winners at the Events Hall in the PGMC. UHP’s award ceremony was well attended by our winning teams and their colleagues, and the atmosphere was as warm and positive as the sunshine outside! It was inspiring to recognise all the hard work that had gone into our teams’ toolkits in our first round of Green Impact, and Lucy our SOS UK project manager praised UHP for how much we had accomplished.

The Sustainability team look back to Greener Allied Health Professionals week at the end of April and celebrate their dieticians who have started to recycle nutritional supplement bottles...

We are really proud to announce our reusable curtains project came third in the Sustainable Healthcare Category in the NHS Excellence Awards!