Top Tips: Making the case for greener respiratory healthcare and influencing upwards
ICSs will bring together expertise and insights from the NHS and local councils as well as voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises.
As of April 2021, regional health and care needs in England will be coordinated through Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) (https://www.england.nhs.uk/integratedcare/what-is-integrated-care/).
ICSs will bring together expertise and insights from the NHS and local councils as well as voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises. The aim of this integrated approach is to meet the health and care needs across an area by coordinating services aimed at improving health and reducing inequalities.
In Scotland, regional NHS Boards are responsible for the delivery of front line healthcare services and for the protection and improvement of population health (https://www.scot.nhs.uk/organisations/).
In Wales, these responsibilities lie with regional Health Boards (https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-09/nhs-wales-planning-framework-2020-to-2023.pdf)
In Northern Ireland with Local Commissioning Groups (LCGs; http://www.hscboard.hscni.net/local-commissioning-group/).
Decisions taken by these organisations will directly impact of the environmental impact of local health and care services and will be an important medium by which the environmental burden of respiratory healthcare be reduced. In this article we bring together our top tips to help you get started with influencing local policy to raise awareness of and drive greener respiratory healthcare initiatives and to ensure that the environment is at the heart of all health and social care decision making in your local area.