Annual Report and Accounts - The Great Western Hospital

Graph 9 – Total tonnes of waste produced by WCHS (tonnes)
800
700
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400
300
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100
Recycle
WEE
landfill
Autoclave
High temp
0
2009/10 (tonnes) 2010/11 (tonnes) 2011/12 (tonnes)
The NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy requires all Trusts to have a board approved Sustainable
Development Management Plan (SDMP). Our plan is due to go to the Board for approval early in
financial year 2012/13. Once approved, a Sustainability Forum will be established to be chaired by
the Director of Finance who has board level responsibility for sustainability. The Sustainability Forum
will monitor the SDMP and ensures that the Trust fulfils its commitment to conducting all aspects of
our activities with due consideration to sustainability, whilst providing high quality patient care. A
board level lead for Sustainability ensures that issues have visibility and ownership at the highest
level of the organisation.
The Trust has a statutory duty to assess the risks posed by climate change, and these are on the risk
register. The Trust is also aware of the potential need to adapt the buildings and services to reflect
changes in climate and illnesses in our locality.
A sustainable NHS can only be delivered through the efforts of all staff. Staff training is on going on
all Trust sites. As part of the Trust’s action for Sustainability Awareness day department managers
were asked to participate in an energy audit for their area. This served to highlight equipment that
could be switched off and increased awareness of usage. A smaller number of staff took part in a
Good Corporate Citizen Workshop in September, where they evaluated the Trust’s sustainability
performance in six key areas against NHS targets. In three out of the six areas discussed the Trust
was exceeding the 2012 target of having a minimum score of 37%. Another workshop will be held in
the following year to ensure that this target is met across all six areas and that the Trust is on track to
achieve 70% compliance by 2015.
Staff at GWH have changed their travel patterns and significantly reduced the number of commuting
miles that are driven each day by staff, by increasing car sharing and decreasing car dependence.
This in turn reduces the impact of the hospital activities on local air quality and greenhouse gas
emissions, so it is important. This was part of the GWH sustainable transport plan, which is now
being considered in WCHS. The Trust is also keen to work with other transport providers such as
Great Western Ambulance Service to reduce the miles driven.
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