To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of more environmentally-friendly inhalers.
Answered on
15 April 2019
The Sustainable Development Unit, a joint NHS England and Public Health England unit, has established a cross sector working group on low carbon inhalers. A cross system approach is now being developed into a system wide implementation plan, with specific actions being delivered by individual members of the group. All actions are supporting progress towards or to exceed the NHS Long Term Plan commitment on low carbon inhalers. This will contribute to the overall National Health Service commitment in the Long Term Plan to reduce carbon emissions in line with the UK Climate Change Act.
On 8 April 2019, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a patient decision aid to help people with asthma, alongside health professionals, to identify which inhalers could meet their needs and control their symptoms. Where several inhalers could be viable options, the decision aid helps clinicians and patients choose the more environmentally friendly option, with a lower carbon footprint. It is co-funded by the SDU.
This is the first time NICE has included climate change impacts in any guidance. The decision aid also highlights the need for used devices to be returned to pharmacies for environmentally safe disposal.
A link to NICE’s decision aid can be found at the following link: