Air pollution and the responsibility of the NHS

 

As we go to print, the UK has joined countries from all over the world in celebrating World Environment Day, shining a spotlight on the work necessary to improve air quality and tackle pollution in all of its forms.

 

Encouraged by the efforts of Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries and the words of Greta Thunberg, the climate emergency has perhaps never been higher on the agenda, and the NHS is not exempt from involvement.

 

Last year the British Lung Foundation revealed that 2,220 GP Practices and 248 hospitals in the UK are in locations with air pollution above World Health Organisation standards. Healthcare bosses need to take a broad look at every aspect of a hospital to find specific areas of improvement, so they can operate with the cleanest air possible.

 

The Clean Air Hospital Framework, developed by Global Action Plan and Great Ormond Street Hospital, offers the opportunity to do just that.

 

I would encourage you to turn to their editorial on page 86 to read about how the framework was developed and its plans moving forward. It is believed that if 50 hospitals adopted the framework, 1.6 million patients a year could receive vital advice on health and air pollution. Such knowledge can’t afford to be ignored.

 

Michael Lyons, editor