The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will be collaborating as part of a national network that aims to dramatically cut the NHS carbon footprint.

Led by the University of Exeter and funded by £6.5 million in government awards, the new UK-wide hub will be working in partnership with the NHS to reach its goal of achieving net zero by 2045. The initiative brings together a range of university and healthcare partners throughout the UK.

Adrian Harris, Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Devon, said:

“We’re pleased that this exciting initiative has received this funding. The new Net-Zero Hub will create increased opportunities for an environmentally sustainable national healthcare service through cutting-edge research and ground-breaking innovation.”

“Being a key partner in this project allows us to further strengthen our relationship with the University of Exeter and is another step toward establishing the Royal Devon as a pioneer in innovation; fitting well with our established, NIHR-funded infrastructure, including the HealthTech Research Centre for Sustainable Innovation.”

The new collaborative, known as the ‘UK Hub for One Health Systems: Creating Sustainable Health and Social Care Pathways’ builds on a national programme’s success in making patient care journeys more sustainable. The NHS England Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme identified innovative ways to cut environmental impact as part of a review of bladder cancer care pathways, supported by GIRFT urology leads John McGrath and Kieran O’Flynn. The new framework for identifying ways to decarbonise care pathways was developed during research conducted by Joseph John, a national GIRFT fellow who is completing his PhD at the University of Exeter and who is a Urology Resident Surgeon at the Royal Devon.

An example of this is the work currently taking place at a Royal Devon-led community hospital in Ottery St Mary. Patients with a common bladder cancer symptom are now able to have a one-stop assessment instead of multiple hospital visits. This change could cut carbon emissions by 237 tonnes CO2e across England each year, while giving patients faster diagnoses and fewer hospital trips.

Hub director Ed Wilson, Professor of Health Economics and Health Policy at the University of Exeter said:
“We’re delighted to receive this funding, which recognises our strong partnerships with the NHS, and our commitment to a greener, fairer and healthier society. We’ll be looking at a patient’s journey through the NHS and social care, finding where the carbon hotspots are and seeing what we can do to make them carbon neutral. This isn’t just about reducing travel and unnecessary waste, but about helping the NHS’ suppliers - the companies who make our drugs, medical devices and everyday items like swabs, sheets and hospital gowns - to redesign their processes to reduce carbon emissions.”

Announced today, the funding has been awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Overall, they are investing £42 million on seven hubs, each facing a different net zero challenge.

This project aligns with the Royal Devon’s ambitions to achieve net zero by 2040. To help accomplish this, we have developed a Green Plan to outline our short and long-term sustainability goals, along with a roadmap of how we plan to reach this.

Read more about sustainability at the Royal Devon here

Read more about the new hub on the University of Exeter website