Please could you introduce yourself and your professional role?
I am a consultant gastroenterologist, specialising in intestinal failure based at the intestinal failure unit, Salford Royal Foundation Trust.
What made you apply for the role of the Sustainability SIG Chair?
Sustainability and climate change are extremely important issues for everyone in society. Being the lead of the BAPEN Sustainability SIG allows me to play a key role in policy development and clinical practice changes which can have a positive impact, not only for the healthcare sector but wider society. Working together with all the healthcare discipline within clinical nutrition delivery is an exciting prospect, something that will be crucial for a successful SIG. Furthermore, as the SIG develops there will be opportunities to promote working relationships with industry partners.
How important is sustainability in healthcare and/or nutritional care?
The healthcare sector is responsible for 4.4% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Clearly, there is an urgent need for change whilst maintaining high standards of care and maintaining services for patients to access. The greatest part of healthcare-associated GHG emissions is not from heating and lighting, but from NHS purchasing of goods and services, which use energy in their manufacture and delivery. If modern healthcare systems’ carbon reduction targets are to be achieved, new low-carbon models of care are needed. With the recognition of the environmental impact of clinical activity, it becomes clear that the elimination of wasted or low-value activity can bring rewards not just to finances, but also to the environment.
What are you looking forward to working on/focusing on as a SIG?
I am looking forward to building a national working group, focused upon the development of strategies and quality improvement streams of work looking to reduce the carbon footprint of clinical nutrition care delivery. It must also be recognised that sustainability is not just about climate and the environment, recognising that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. Working in collaborative manner with the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC) is a particularly exciting component of the SIG.
Why do you think people should get involved with BAPEN? Are there opportunities for people to get involved with the Sustainability SIG?
Joining the BAPEN Sustainability SIG would allow participants a unique opportunity to help shape a new SIG at its outset, to develop changes to working practice looking to make a meaningful positive impact on the environment and to do so within a multidisciplinary setting. Since clinical nutrition spans all medical and surgical specialities, optimising the nutritional care of diverse groups of patients will have far reaching effects on our ability to achieve sustainability, facilitating the use of resources and practices that promote the long-term viability of healthcare systems as well as the environment.
