A climate for change

What is the biggest challenge facing UK health and social care?  Ageing population?  Funding? Workforce?

According to the Lancet there is a much bigger challenge: climate change.  

It says that "The nature and scale of the response to climate change will be the determining factor in shaping the health of nations for centuries to come".  However, "A lack of progress… threatens both human lives and the viability of the national health systems they depend on, with the potential to disrupt core public health infrastructure and overwhelm health services".

It goes on to say that, "Ensuring a widespread understanding of climate change as a central public health issue will be crucial".

We took this as a cue to see what public engagement is going on around health services in respect of climate change.  Here's what we found:

This is surprising, because we know that some providers are working hard on environmental responsibility.  There is a good summary here on how hospitals can cut greenhouse gas emissions.  And an argument here for how the NHS can behave as an environmental anchor.  

So - in a week that sees the start of the international climate rebellion, 
should healthcare services start thinking more about how they engage with the general public on these matters?  The Lancet (as per the quote above) seems to think so.  And so do we.  And given that "the response to climate change will be the determining factor in shaping the health of nations for centuries to come", we hope to see NHS England and Public Health England encouraging much greater efforts to engage with patients and public on the climate emergency.
 

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In case you missed it...

The latest edition of Patient Experience Quarterly is out now, featuring an interview with Jennifer Johannesen about her book "No Ordinary Boy".  It tells of her "encounters with healthcare" while looking after her profoundly disabled son Owen, until his early death.  The book is a must-read and is available as a free download via the magazine.

We also hear from Liz Pryor about how her mother's death in hospital led her to set up the Anne Robson Trust and the brilliant Butterfly Volunteers.  And patient leaders from the NHS Leadership Academy talk about what patient leadership means to them.

All this plus our top picks from patient experience studies and surveys over the last quarter are available in Patient Experience Quarterly, available via our website. 

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Free resources

Not a subscriber to the Patient Experience Library?  Don't worry - you can still get lots of free stuff from our website!  

Our quarterly Patient Experience magazine carries insightful comment from a range of contributors, as well as our top picks of recent reports on patient experience and patient/public involvement. 

Patient Experience in England is our annual overview of the evidence base, drawing on surveys and research from government bodies, health charities and academic institutions.  The evidence is broken down into manageable chunks, and research findings are grouped under key themes for ease of understanding. 

You can browse our Knowledge Maps to see how patient experience is being reported in your area.  

And if you want to wear your patient experience heart on your sleeve, you can download and print our posters and stick them on your wall.  Better still, post them to the Chief Executive of your local NHS Trust!
  

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