6 minute read
Health & Wellbeing
A more planet-friendly NHS
With the change in the weather at home, extreme weather events around the world frequently in the news and the increasing engagement of people of all ages and backgrounds in the issues, the discussion about climate change is getting wider and seems to be part of every sphere of life at the moment. Perhaps I feel this slightly more than most as my husband is a Climate Change scientist and my children are vocal and opinionated tweenagers! The discourse is increasing in volume and urgency in the health service too (at last), and for no small reason. The British Medical Journal reported in 2020 that the NHS contributes around 4% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, so if we as a nation are to achieve net zero, changes in the NHS are essential. And of course, change in our climate is in itself a medical emergency with high air temperatures directly causing increased death rates and changes in food security, flooding, displacement of populations and the spread of infectious diseases all directly adding to mortality and morbidity. Air pollution caused by cars and other particle emitters has an enormous effect on many different illnesses especially, the big killers: heart disease, strokes and respiratory illness. To put this in context, scientists say one third of new asthma cases could be avoided by cutting emissions. There are lots of things starting to change – both at a micro-GP surgery level and local, regional and nation scales. At Tavyside Health Centre we are doing more and more each year, and gradually I feel like we might be starting to achieve things. We have signed up to the Royal College of GPs Green Impact for Health (with 975 other practices around the country – about 10% of the total number). This gives us literally hundreds of things to address from small things like making sure that our tea and coffee is fairtrade to big projects like changing people from environment-harming asthma inhalers to environmentally friendly ones. Last year we achieved the Silver Award and this year we’re on track to get Gold.
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You will start to see our doctors doing their home visits on the practice electric bikes soon. It might mean we turn up to our afternoon surgeries slightly damp knowing the Devon weather, but we are committed to it. Vehicle use is a substantial fraction of the NHS emissions. One of the better things to come out of the Covid pandemic was the widespread adoption of technology in the health service to do things like consulting remotely – which saves many thousands of car journeys to hospitals and GP surgeries. It’s so important that moving forward we work to have a balance of remote and face-to-face consultations so everyone who needs to be seen can be, but that we avoid car journeys when it’s not necessary. Consultations are evolving too. When appropriate, medical staff are placing emphasis on discussions about exercise and the environment we live in together, looking holistically at wellness and community as well as traditional prescriptions. We are looking to reduce the amount of waste we produce, and finding innovative ways of doing things that use less plastic and resources. None of these are new ideas but getting round to implementing them in the middle of an already busy day takes some doing. A lot of the inspiration for possible change is coming from looking at others and what they have already achieved, for example Primary Care in Cornwall where people have been working hard, and most importantly together, on environmental sustainability. On a large scale in October 2020, NHS leaders made a pledge to become the world’s first net zero national health system by 2040. Some of this will be achieved by looking at infrastructure – NHS vehicles and buildings; some by using technology to save patient journeys to hospital and delivering much more patient care in local communities or homes; some by switching from consumables to low carbon options. So much of this work fits with what our patients want too: being cared for at home rather than in hospitals; avoiding unnecessary medications, and taking the most planet-friendly versions. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the thought of climate change but by doing what I can, together with my colleagues and patients, I can feel just a little more empowered and optimistic.
Dr Jo Coldron Tavyside Health Centre, Tavistock
Are you worried about how much alcohol you drink?
Since the pandemic, more people than ever are struggling with their relationship with alcohol. At the start of this year, a record number of people googled ‘am I an alcoholic?’ Being worried that you may be an alcoholic is scary and lonely – you are probably feeling embarrassed and ashamed, and asking yourself how it came to this. Is it going to be possible for you to learn to moderate, or is your future going to be a life of daily AA meetings and a permanent feeling of deprivation?
Tabbin Almond, certified coach, said: “You may well have tried to cut back but found that you couldn’t keep going. People often report waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning, heart racing, panicked by what they might have said or done the previous evening, and they will resolve not to drink the next day. But come the evening, the familiar battle will be going on in their head, and they will potentially cave in and tell themselves they will just have one drink… but it rarely is just one drink!
“Then there’s the ‘rule-making’, like only drinking at weekends, or not drinking
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alone, or limiting the number of drinks. And sometimes those self-imposed rules stick - for a while at least. And we may even manage the odd full month. We know that when we aren’t drinking, we feel so much better – health, energy, relationships, appearance – everything improves.
But we don’t seem able to stick to it. Does any of this sound familiar to you? If so, you are certainly not alone, and the good news is that help is at hand.” You can escape the pain, blame and shame of having a problem with alcohol. You don’t need to have a spectacular ‘rock bottom’ before regaining control and you don’t need to rely on willpower.
Tabbin has undergone rigorous, specialised coach training with Annie Grace, who has helped over a quarter of a million people redefine their relationship with alcohol. Her certification allows her to use the ground-breaking This Naked Mind methodology and a science-based approach to making alcohol truly small and irrelevant in your life. Annie Grace (her books start with ‘This Naked Mind’) and her unique approach is an absolute ‘game-changer’ said Tabbin. It is based on freedom (not deprivation), grace (not judgement or shame) and transforming whole lives (not just physical habits).
For more information contact Tabbin through her website at winetowatercoaching.com to book a free and confidential ‘discovery call’.
Worried about how much you are drinking? Finding it hard to stick to just one or two?
As a certifi ed This Naked Mind coach, I can help you gain control, and change your relationship with alcohol.
QUALIFIED, NON-JUDGEMENTAL AND EFFECTIVE HELP IS AT HAND!
CERTIFIED COACH
