Press release: NHS Confederation responds to Draft Climate Change Bill Joint Committee report
03 Aug 2007
Responding to the Draft Climate Change Bill Joint Committee report published today, Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 95 per cent of NHS organisations, said:
"We welcome today's report and the Committee's recommendation to set statutory emissions targets at a minimum level.
"We would urge the government to take up the NHS Confederation's recommendation to include a health expert in the proposed Committee on Climate Change; given this is such an important challenge for the NHS.
"The NHS, as one of the world's largest and resource-hungry public services, has a major role to play in tackling climate change. Furthermore, as the UK's largest employer, the NHS can help promote positive changes in attitude among its 1.3 million staff. NHS leaders are already doing a great deal to address the problem of climate change, and our research shows they feel they should do more to deal with this critical issue.
"Our recent report - Taking the temperature - revealed that the NHS will have to work hard to reduce its energy consumption and meet the UK energy white paper's target of reducing emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010 and 60 per cent by 2050. The sheer scale of the NHS, with one million patient contacts every 36 hours, means the organisation has a considerable carbon footprint, but also the potential to promote positive change.
"The impact of climate change on the general health of the UK population will be a significant additional pressure on the NHS. A warmer, more variable climate may mean an increase in heat-related deaths, insect borne disease and respiratory disease."
Ends
Notes for editors
1. Taking the temperature: Towards an NHS response to global warming
2. Survey of NHS chief executives, chairs and PEC chairs (336 responses)
Local NHS organisations should make reducing their carbon footprint a major priority.
Strongly agree 23.8%
Tend to agree 46.1%
Neither agree nor disagree 15.8%
Tend to disagree 11.6%
Strongly disagree 2.7%
3. The NHS Confederation represents more than 95% of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
Contact details
4. Contact Joanna Clason (media relations manager) 020 7074 3306 or 077 9857 1078, Niall Smith 020 7074 3304 or 077 6777 0309 or Ruth Kennedy 020 7074 3312 or 078 8447 3086. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
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