Welcome!

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is a registered charity working since 2008 to help the health sector reduce its carbon footprint, and it is now one of the world's foremost institutions for sustainable healthcare research and practice. The team draws on knowledge and experience from public health, clinical practice, environmental consultancy, research and public policy to develop the methods and metrics to reduce the footprint of clinical care.  

Course outline

This course, developed in collaboration with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health explores the impacts of climate change and nature loss on the health and wellbeing of children, and the ways in which the health system is both vulnerable to and contributing to these crises. As healthcare professionals working with children we cannot stand on the sidelines; we have a duty of care to our patients, communities, and the natural world which is our life support system. 

This course outlines (using real world case studies) a comprehensive vision of a system of care, reaching out into our communites and schools, that could maximise children’s opportunities to thrive whilst also allowing the ecosystems which support them to flourish. What might the wider benefits be of a sustainable approach across healthcare and our communities? How can healthcare staff, at all levels, play their part in leading this exciting transformation?         

Participants are invited to consider how the principles of sustainability can be applied in their settings, using a mix of theory and case examples. The workshop and ongoing support through the cafes focus on supporting participants to put their learning in to practice by implementing sustainability projects. There is a lot of work to be done and we are all needed.  There are many important ways to make a difference and this course is a starting point.  

By the end of the course you will be able to:

1. Describe the relationship between the global environmental crisis and child health and wellbeing.
2. Describe the contribution of the health sector to the global environmental crisis. 
3. Explain how sustainability can help to address existing challenges in the healthcare system.
4. Understand the role of different players in the ecosystem of care around the child in responding to the threat of climate change and the importance of partnership working.
5. Identify carbon hotspots and understand the basic principles of carbon footprinting.
6. Apply the principles of sustainability to your area of work.
7. Plan a sustainability project in your workplace.
   

The course is divided in to three parts.

Part I. Self-study online Interactive online materials covering all course content, illustrated with case studies, presented in bite-sized modules.  The course is flexible to your interests and available time; a condensed version can be completed in under 2 hours using the module summary pages,  whilst the full course contains 8 hours of more in depth study. A discussion forum allows you to reflect on your learning and share thoughts and ideas with fellow learners.  A short video on the home page outlines how to navigate the learning platform and obtain your certificate of completion. The learning materials are available to you from the point of booking and for 6 months after your workshop date. You can see a table of contents for the self study materials here. 

"It was informative and easy to understand and follow. Having everything laid out so clearly -- a mixture of text, diagrams, graphs, and videos helped bring it to life and keep concentration. It really helped me consolidate my knowledge and feel prepared for the workshop". 

"I liked that the discussions were grounded in projects and tying into areas we can immediately effect and apply into our work".

Part II.  Live online workshop – The 4 hour virtual workshop consolidates your understanding of the course materials. The timetable includes pre-session technical assistance and networking, followed by a review of the self-study material with Q&A. In small group discussions with CSH experts and colleagues from around the worldyou will then share your ideas for a sustainability intervention in your setting and make plans to address it, using the range of resources, tools and methods developed by CSH and partners.

"I liked the opportunity to network with other trainees. Definitely the examples were the most inspiring and felt practical too".

Part 3. Mentoring -  After completing the self-study materials and online workshop you are invited to attend our online Sustainable Healthcare Cafés. The 2 hour cafes occur regularly throughout the year and offer ongoing support for you to put your learning in to practice. They are a friendly, informal setting in which to:

You are welcome to continue attending the cafes as many times as you wish. Upcoming dates are available here and will also be emailed out to you with your certificate of completion after the workshop.

"Inspirational and reassuring to hear everyone else’s actions and sense of urgency. On a practical level, I feel more knowledgeable on where to aim my work for greater impact and have been directed towards lots of useful information sources and initiatives" 

To kick off, we invite you to enjoy this evocative 2 minute video poem What Future Do We Choose?

Hayley was a lead consultant addiction psychiatrist with nearly 30 yrs experience in the NHS and publicly funded services.  She is a medical educator, was a senior honorary lecturer at the University of East Anglia, and has been involved in climate education, outreach, and activism for several years. Hayley also has a degree in psychology and completed general practice training before pursuing a career in psychiatry.

Emilia Soulsby

Emilia was a teacher of sociology, health and social care and personal development in a Cumbrian Secondary school for 10 years and now works as network development manager for the Child Health and Wellbeing Network in the North East and North Cumbria. She is passionate about raising the profile of babies, children and young people and enabling their voice to be heard on all areas including climate change and the environment.

Dr Rosie Spooner 

Rosie is a Paediatric Trainee (St5) in Severn Deanery and CSH QI Education Fellow (2020-2021), working with universities and postgraduate education programmes to support the integration of sustainable healthcare into Quality Improvement teaching. She comes from a background in environmental activism, successfully lobbying the RCPCH to declare a climate emergency and established a hospital allotment society whilst a medical student in London.

 

Contributors:

• Dr Elizabeth McLellan, Paediatric registrar, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Sleep)
• Dr Catriona Mellor, consultant CAMHS psychiatrist and member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Sustainability Committee (Mental Health)
• Dr Jo-anne Veltman (speciality doctor in paediatrics) (Obesity and Diabetes)
• Jenny Foster Network Manager CYP Northeast North Cumbria Diabetes Network (Diabetes)
• Dr Paula Drummond, Consultant Paediatrician at the Great North Children’s Hospital and lead consultant for the Children’s Bladder and Bowel service (Healthy bowels and bladders)
• Dr James Smith (Asthma care)
• Dr Aarti Bansal GP - Greener practice (Asthma care)
• Dr Joe Barron-Snowden (Asthma care)
• Louise Dauncey (Network Delivery Manager | CYP Transformation Programme Northeast and North Cumbria Child Health and Wellbeing Network (Asthma care)
• Jason Gandhi, Environmentally Sustainable Anaesthesia Fellow 2021-22 (Surgery)
• Ardra Radhalakshmi – Elective medical student (PPE)
• Kinjal Jadeja – Elective medical student (Surgery)