Positively Green

Healthcare provision is constantly transforming and improving as the use of technology continues to modernise and opens up new opportunities for more efficient systems, faster drug or vaccine development, earlier predictions of diseases as well as making accessing services or information easier. And it is the latter that might seem small, but can be hugely beneficial with electronic versions of care leaflets being available at the touch of a button.

It gives the Sustainability Team great pleasure to announce the first birthday of our staff sustainable behaviour programme, Choosing Greener, which has focussed on embedding sustainable behaviours, helping us to do our bit for the environment.

UHP's vision is to provide outstanding integrated care with a key strategic objective of being able to provide services in a sustainable way. Helping us work towards this objective is one of our top 3 improvement challenges, which is to reduce outpatient routine follow-up appointments physically seen in a hospital setting by 35% by 2024.

At UHP, our laboratory analyse samples from patients in the Hospital as well as other NHS settings, such as GP services, from across Devon and Cornwall. The ‘traditional’ method for transportation involves packing samples in several single use plastic bags which are collected by our courier service to be taken to Derriford.

Derriford hospital is well known as a large teaching hospital compassionately providing a range of excellent care services accessible by up to 2,000,000 people in the South West peninsula, but it is also a invaluable home of accessible, safe green spaces. Within the 23 hectares of green-blue spaces onsite, you can find the Bircham Valley nature reserve, the Orchard and a wildlife pond , including many courtyard gardens.

With the Trust leading the way towards its aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 and choosing to embed more sustainable practises, we’re also encouraging onsite 3rd party vendors to choose and offer sustainable alternatives, where possible.

The journey for medicines from the pharmacy to make it to the right patient on the right ward is necessarily a quick & accurate process that now produces less single use plastic waste thanks to the Pharmacy team switching to paper delivery bags.

Recycle Week is an annual event designed to celebrate and promote the benefits of recycling. It creates opportunities for us all to implement positive change that will help protect our planet.

The Trust has implemented a travel plan tool called PTP (Personal Travel Plan) to help patients, visitors and staff plan their journeys to Derriford Hospital, and encourage people to use more sustainable travel options.