Queen Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department achieves GreenED Bronze accreditation

Our Trust is delighted to announce that our Emergency Department (ED) at QA Hospital has been awarded the Bronze accreditation in the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s GreenED programme. The award recognises our commitment to delivering environmentally sustainable emergency care.

Over the past three years, our ED has embedded sustainability into staff induction and teaching, strengthened our GreenED working group, and has implemented significant improvements to reduce our environmental impact.

For example, the team reduced single-use plastics by replacing patient water bottles with dispensers and paper cups, and introduced reusable options in the Children’s ED. A shift to digital notes and prescribing also created a substantial reduction in paper use, saving an estimated 175,200 pages and 876kg of carbon dioxide annually.

Additionally, our ED has reduced the environmental impact of inhalers, introduced energy-saving measures across more than 200 computers, and has launched projects to reduce unnecessary investigations and cannulation, all contributing to lower emissions, reduced waste and financial savings.

Sarah Herbert, Emergency Department Consultant and Sustainability Departmental Lead, said: “Our focus has always been on delivering excellent patient care, and sustainability is a key part of that. The changes we’ve made have had real benefits for patients, staff and the environment. We’re proud to be recognised with the GreenED Bronze accreditation and are already working on the next steps.

“The enthusiasm and hard work of our ED colleagues should be celebrated. We have shared and worked with a range of departments across the Trust to drive meaningful projects with measurable and real improvement that have had an impact environmentally, financially, and improved patient experience.”

Thanking everyone who has been involved in the process, Sarah added: “The Bronze accreditation has been a collaborative effort over the last three years, and I wanted to thank everyone involved, including nurses, administrative staff, medical students, residents, and sustainability clinical fellows. I also want to thank Head of Sustainability, Trevor Mose, and Chief Financial Officer, Mark Orchard, for their support.”

Dr Ian Higginson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “On behalf of the College – a massive congratulations to the team at Queen Alexandra Hospital who have been awarded a Bronze accreditation through our GreenED programme. This accomplishment has been driven by a dedicated, innovative team, who have reduced emissions, as well as waste and saved costs – all to tackle the climate crisis. A healthier planet means healthier patients, and we have a duty to act to protect both. As a College, we are proud to support Emergency Departments across the UK, and beyond, in playing their part to become more environmentally friendly.”

The QA Hospital ED team now plans to build on this success as we begin working towards Silver accreditation, continuing to develop new projects and strengthen cross‑specialty collaboration.

The award recognises our commitment to delivering environmentally sustainable emergency care.

Over the past three years, our ED has embedded sustainability into staff induction and teaching, strengthened our GreenED working group, and has implemented significant improvements to reduce our environmental impact.

For example, the team reduced single-use plastics by replacing patient water bottles with dispensers and paper cups, and introduced reusable options in the Children’s ED. A shift to digital notes and prescribing also created a substantial reduction in paper use, saving an estimated 175,200 pages and 876kg of carbon dioxide annually.

Additionally, our ED has reduced the environmental impact of inhalers, introduced energy-saving measures across more than 200 computers, and has launched projects to reduce unnecessary investigations and cannulation, all contributing to lower emissions, reduced waste and financial savings.

Sarah Herbert, Emergency Department Consultant and Sustainability Departmental Lead, said: “Our focus has always been on delivering excellent patient care, and sustainability is a key part of that. The changes we’ve made have had real benefits for patients, staff and the environment. We’re proud to be recognised with the GreenED Bronze accreditation and are already working on the next steps.

“The enthusiasm and hard work of our ED colleagues should be celebrated. We have shared and worked with a range of departments across the Trust to drive meaningful projects with measurable and real improvement that have had an impact environmentally, financially, and improved patient experience.”

Thanking everyone who has been involved in the process, Sarah added: “The Bronze accreditation has been a collaborative effort over the last three years, and I wanted to thank everyone involved, including nurses, administrative staff, medical students, residents, and sustainability clinical fellows. I also want to thank Head of Sustainability, Trevor Mose, and Chief Financial Officer, Mark Orchard, for their support.”

Dr Ian Higginson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “On behalf of the College – a massive congratulations to the team at Queen Alexandra Hospital who have been awarded a Bronze accreditation through our GreenED programme. This accomplishment has been driven by a dedicated, innovative team, who have reduced emissions, as well as waste and saved costs – all to tackle the climate crisis. A healthier planet means healthier patients, and we have a duty to act to protect both. As a College, we are proud to support Emergency Departments across the UK, and beyond, in playing their part to become more environmentally friendly.”

The QA Hospital ED team now plans to build on this success as we begin working towards Silver accreditation, continuing to develop new projects and strengthen cross‑specialty collaboration.