What are we doing to be more sustainable?
The practice has created a sustainability group called GREEN TAP. This group will look at all areas of the business using the Green Impact Toolkit designed specifically for GP practices.
Our key areas of focus for sustainability are:-
- Embedding Green Impact into our organisational culture
- Improving our energy efficiency
- Implementing our lighting responsibility plan
- Sourcing food and drink responsibly and avoiding use of plastic where possible
- Reducing waste and increasing recycling
- Promoting sustainable transport
- Purchasing sustainably
- Reducing our use of paper
- Reducing prescribing
- Supporting health and wellbeing of staff and patients
Embedding Green Impact into our organisational culture
- Sustainability is one of our core values
- Green Impact is a standing item on agendas for meetings
- We regularly ask our staff to feedback ideas for improvement
- We promote Green ideas to our staff through our Topics page on teamnet
- We work collaboratively with our local community; inhaler prescribing and patient volunteer gardening group.
- We plan to promote Green ideas on each of our sites via our ‘huddles’ and monthly lunchtime closures
- We plan to engage staff and have a ‘Green Lead’ at each site
- We plan to expand our gardening group and green spaces at our sites
Improving our energy efficiency
- We ensure temperatures are regulated in the building – through the use of an air handling system (LBQ & some rooms at Poole Surgery)
- Radiators are turned down where possible – thermostats on radiators
- Equipment is turned off at the end of each day
- Lighting is on timers and/or lights can also be turned off when not needed
- Energy – gas and electric – is provided via green energy suppliers
- Use of water heaters for making tea and coffee, instead of kettles
Implementing our lighting responsibility plan
- Lights are fitted with sensors in new builds and refurbishments
- Staff take responsibility for switching lights off when not needed or when leaving a room at the end of a session / day
- Clear labelling on light switches to make it easier to turn areas of lighting off
- Staff responsible for closing building at the end of the day undertake a building sweep to ensure all area lighting is turned off
- Replace old light fittings as they fail with LED lighting
Sourcing food and drink responsibly
- No longer providing plastic cups at water station (we provide recyclable cups and glasses and encourage staff to use refillable water bottles)
- Providing tea and coffee for staff which is Fairtrade/sustainable
- Reducing single use plastic
- We provide staff with weekly fruit supply on each site
- We plan to introduce and encourage staff to partake in meat free days
Reducing waste and increasing recycling
- Ensuring only confidential waste is collected for shredding
- All other paper recycled
- Clearly labelled bins in clinic rooms for domestic / confidential / sharps / clinical waste
- Collection of plastic milk bottle tops for Air Ambulance charity
- Recycling plastic bottles
- Recycling of other materials, including cardboard, printer toner cartridges and batteries
- Encouraging patients to consider switching inhaler use to more sustainable version and encouraging recycling of inhalers at local pharmacies
Promoting sustainable transport
- Promote walking, cycling and car sharing to work
- Implemented a Cycle to Work scheme and providing cycle shelters
- Providing facilities like showers for runners and cyclists
- We place monthly orders to reduce the number of trips from our suppliers to our surgeries
Reducing our use of paper
- Working towards being a paperless Practice where possible
- Ceasing use of fax machines
- Promoting health education messages to patients via patient information screens in waiting areas, to reduce the use of leaflets
- Photocopiers are able to scan and email documents, to reduce printing and also print double sided
- Patient communication uses paperless systems where possible
- Registration packs have been reviewed and condensed to reduce paper used. Online registration now available
- We are encouraging staff to reduce use of couch roll and plastic gloves in line with guidelines
Reducing prescribing
- Where possible, the Practice is reducing polypharmacy and over prescribing
- Reducing prescribing of opiates – we are working with patients to review their opiod use and reduce where possible
- Reducing prescribing of over the counter medicines
- Where appropriate, switching prescriptions for inhalers to dry powder inhalers
- We promote self help and management with referral to our PCN wellbeing team who include a social prescriber, health coach and active monitoring from Dorset Mind
Supporting Health and Wellbeing
- Promoting workplace health and wellbeing with a Lead GP Partner for wellbeing
- Working closely with various organisations to help patients improve their health and wellbeing i.e. Carers events, Healthy Walks, annual Leg Club Charity walk
- Providing resources on our website to help patients support their health and wellbeing
- Promoting a series of health and wellbeing campaigns each year via our notice boards and TV screens. Holding events on men’s and women’s health and seasonal health issues such as the flu vaccination
- We are a Park Run practice
- Referring patients to our PCN wellbeing team for support from a social prescriber, health coach and active monitoring with Dorset Mind
Find out what you can do to be more sustainable
As well as the things we are doing as a Practice to be more sustainable, we are encouraging patients to be more sustainable too. Below are some ideas of small, often health related, changes you can make which can help the environment, and which can also often save you money too.
Reducing the use of single use plastic and sourcing food and drink responsibly
- You can reduce your use of single use plastic by using a refillable water bottle.
- You might also want to think about other ways to reduce your use of plastic – some websites to visit include Plastic Free Challenge and City To Sea.
- One of the biggest environmental impacts you can have as an individual is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy you eat. If you want to try this, even on just one or two days of the week, there is lots of support available to you. Take a look at Veganuary and Meat Free Monday for ideas if you’re interested in this or try something like Dairy Free Tuesdays. There are lots of recipes online to inspire you if you want to make small changes to what you eat.
- Try to buy Fair Trade products because, as well as ensuring decent working conditions, terms of trade and prices for producers, it also ensures local sustainability where products are grown / produced.
Reducing waste and increasing recycling
- Did you know you can recycle your inhaler? Local pharmacies will take used inhalers from you for recycling.
- If you have asthma the Practice Nurse will advise you if you are suited to a dry powder inhaler. Dry powder inhalers are much better for the environment and are often the best choice for our health.
- Some patients need to continue using Metered Dose Inhalers. Where this is the case we are encouraging patients to ensure they’ve used every dose from that inhaler before returning it to the pharmacy for recycling.
- As a Practice we are looking at how we can reduce prescribing in order to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce waste. Please talk to your health care professional if you have concerns about this.
Using sustainable transport
- Walk or cycle to the Practice for your appointments where possible – we have cycle racks at Hamworthy, Poole, and Lifeboat Quay surgeries that you are welcome to use. Remember to bring your own lock!
- Use public transport where possible.
Reducing the use of paper
- To reduce the use of leaflets we promote health education messages to patients via the TV screens in all our waiting rooms. We may also send messages via text or email.
- Patients can also find a lot of information on our website about registering, using Klink and information about our different clinics or services. See Patient Resources page and Community Support page.
- We actively encourage patients to use online forms, or respond to text messages i.e. cancelling appointments can be done via a text link, and seasonal flu vaccinations, rather than paper based forms
Reducing prescribing
- Where possible, the Practice is reducing polypharmacy and over prescribing. We will only reduce medications in the best interest of the patient and may also be able to promote other ways you can help manage your condition, for example through diet, exercise and support groups. Using other forms of support can help reduce the need for, or the amount of, medication prescribed – which is good for you and good for the planet.
Supporting health and wellbeing
- We support patients to improve their health and wellbeing, for example through working closely with Live Well Dorset
- We are a Parkrun Practice and encourage you to take part in the local Parkrun, which takes place at Poole Park or Upton Country Park every Saturday morning. This is a chance to get fitter, enjoy the outdoors and meet new people. If you don’t want to run (or walk) the route then you can always join in by volunteering.
- Patients can join one of the many local Health Walks that take place in Poole, we advertise one at Upton Country Park on a Tuesday which is run by our volunteers.
- We promote a series of health and wellbeing campaigns each year, for example seasonal flu vaccination
The Adam Practice is committed to improving our carbon footprint and doing our bit for the environment around us and in our community.
Hamworthy Community Garden
We have set up a wildlife friendly community garden at our Hamworthy practice where patients and volunteers have planted bulbs and seeds, build birdboxes and cleared rubbish from the area surrounding our Hamworthy branch. We are hoping to continue this work and include our other branches soon.
If you would like to be involved in our community garden, it runs every Thursday from 12:30pm – 2:30pm at our Hamworthy surgery. Come along for a chat or grab a shovel and dig in, we hope to see you there!
Greener Prescribing
