Plymouth academic contributes to new NHS resource on sustainability

Dr Clare Pettinger has shared her research and practice to inform the co-creation of the NHS Greener Allied Health Professional hub.
Clare Pettinger

An academic and sustainability champion has contributed to the first NHS resource empowering Allied Health Professionals to embed sustainability into their practice.

Dr Clare Pettinger, Lecturer in Public Health Dietetics at the 抖阴短视频, shared her research and practice on sustainable food systems to inform the co-creation of the .

, or AHPs, comprise of 14 disciplines, ranging from physiotherapists and dietitians, to radiographers and paramedics. As the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS, AHPs are hoped to play an important role in the strategy to .

The hub provides clear actionable steps that AHPs can take to improve their own environmental sustainability. Developed in partnership with a range of different stakeholders, including Greener NHS and the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Sustainability advisory group, it includes 鈥榳hat good looks like鈥 for individual AHPs and their teams, as well as wider examples demonstrating how AHPs can lead this work in their organisations.

The ideas include digital transformation and the application of technology, recycling and repurposing items to reduce waste, and changing diet to incorporate sustainability 鈥 as Dr Pettinger explains.

鈥淲hen it comes to sustainability, it鈥檚 easy to think of actions that are too big or too out of our remit to influence,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut this hub is designed to show AHPs as a whole, and individual disciplines, what we can do within our own practice to help. For example, changing dietary habits to consider the carbon footprint of your food choices is something we could all incorporate into our everyday lives. I鈥檓 really pleased to have contributed my knowledge and experience to the hub, and look forward to seeing the hub grow, progress and ultimately affect change.鈥

Dr Pettinger has worked with the British Dietetic Association to co-produce its  campaign, highlighting how dietitians can be leaders in raising awareness of how food and diet contribute to climate change. She is also currently co-leading a UKRI-funded project on the 'Co-production of healthy, sustainable food systems for disadvantaged communities'.

She added:

鈥淲hat this work has really highlighted to me is how collaboration is so important. We all have a role to play. Every little effort or change we make individually creates a collective movement for transformational change.鈥

one blue dot

The launch of the Greener AHP Hub coincides with the  campaign run by the Greener NHS team, acknowledging and sharing the progress that the NHS has made one year since becoming the world鈥檚 first health service to commit to reaching net zero carbon emissions, in the lead up to COP26 鈥 the world鈥檚 largest climate action conference.

Green AHP logo

In addition to the new hub, also view Dr Pettinger鈥檚 blog written for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare 鈥 .

Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research

From basic research discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care to the most vulnerable people in society, our thriving community conducts adventurous world-leading research.

Transformation in life course, ageing, methodologies, e-health, technology and interventions in health, social care, lifestyle and wellbeing.

Find out more about our research
People walking and talking in a modern setting.