Patient-Centred Approach to Environmental Issues in Respiratory Care

The NHS currently contributes 6.3% of England’s total carbon emissions¹ of which 3.1% is made up by inhalers.² In 2020 the Primary Care Respiratory System (PCRS ) published a white paper call to action on Greener Respiratory Healthcare That is Kinder to the Environment.¹

In this presentation Dr Holmes focuses on strategies to balance sustainability with patient centred respiratory care, such as better clinical care including better diagnosis and patient education which, could lead to reducing overuse of medication, fewer trips to and from the hospital and potentially less hospital admissions. He discusses balancing environmental goals and personalised treatments by providing practical advice.

References

1. PCRS Greener Respiratory Healthcare That is Kinder to the Environment. Available at: https://www.pcrs-uk.org/sites/pcrs-uk.org/files/White-Paper-Greener-Respiratory-Healthcare-20201118.pdf

2. Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf

We hope that you found the content valuable. To ensure that we continue to provide topics and content of interest, we would very much value your feedback by completing a short questionnaire.

• Dr Steve Holmes

  General Practitioner

  Read biography
  Dr Steve Holmes

  General Practitioner North of the United Kingdom

  Role and Location 

  Dr Holmes qualified as a GP in 1989 and, after initially practising in the north of the country, has been working in Somerset since 2002.

  Research Interests

  He has a long-standing respiratory interest in primary care, has chaired the PCRS and was involved with the British Asthma Guidelines (BTYS/SIGN) for 10 years. Dr Holmes has been a GP trainer since 1990 and has been involved in medical education throughout his career.

  Memberships

  Dr Holmes has also been involved with a variety of multi-professional, cross boundary initiatives within the NHS and has more than 200 publications to his name. He has had an interest in communication skills training and change management – along with a passion to encourage clinicians to make a difference.