New OSCE testing centre opens

Building a sustainable future

Climate change poses a significant threat to our health, and across the NHS, we have to respond to the impact of heatwaves, flooding and an increase in vector carrying diseases. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK, we recognise the important role we have to play in helping reduce carbon emissions and become more sustainable.

The NHS contributes around 5% of all carbon emissions and has set a target to be net zero by 2040, which means that greenhouse emissions need to be equal to or less than the emissions it removes from the environment.

To achieve this target will be a huge undertaking for the Trust; we will need to change how we care for our patients, our estate, and our supply chain and require everyone to play their part. Our Green Plan details how the Trust will reduce the impact of climate change and pollution on health and deliver sustainable healthcare. We will focus on achieving cleaner air, reducing energy use and reliance on fossil fuels, smarter travel, innovative approaches to care, waste management and greener facilities. We have already taken great strides to achieve this by investing over £20 million in energy saving projects, reducing the carbon emissions of anaesthetic gas, converting waste into energy and becoming the first Carbon Literate NHS Hospital Trust. The Trust’s GRASP Rewards programme is an easy and rewarding way for staff to play their part. It allows you to log your positive actions, collect green points and show that you are making a difference, and each month those who earn the most green points will win a £20 voucher. Since the programme launched in 2021, our GRASP Reward members have helped save over 54,000kg of CO2. You can join the scheme here: https:// leedsth.greenrewards. co.uk/

More Heroes… A Second series of Heroes Unmasked launches

In January we launched Heroes Unmasked, the first podcast series for the Trust, with the aim of bringing to life stories of interesting people, at a time when we were all feeling a bit more than disconnected in the wake of the pandemic.

The feedback from listeners and from those taking part has been really positive and you can now find stories of our staff across all the main podcast channels, including Apple and Spotify, both nationally and internationally. We’ve created a channel where real voices from the Trust can be heard and where quality storytelling and conversations are taking place. If you loved the tale of former submariner - now security advisor - Mark, or were fascinated by Play Worker Megan’s award-winning sheep, then there are more delights in store in a second series that launched in June. Listen out in this series for top-league women footballers, Chinese chess champions, and other interesting characters within our midst.

Our focus is to show just some of the breadth of the work that our staff do, in a new way that brings them together. We wanted to get to the crux of who people are. You can listen to all the episodes published so far on our website: www.podfollow.com/heroes-unmasked