By Kate Pugh and Ndanatsei Mupawaenda

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s orthotics department based at New Cross Hospital and Cannock Chase Hospital was the winner of the sustainability award at the Fab Change Festival in 2021 and more recently they were announced as the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) Greener AHP winners in 2022. The department achieved this by embarking on a sustainability drive, where the team investigated how to improve the sustainability of the service without negatively impacting quality, patient care, and efficiency. In April 2021 the “greener orthotics” panel was created to discuss ideas and formulate a plan, examining how to reduce waste, improve processes, and recycle and to see if there were ways patients could access the service differently.

The panel comprised: Beagle Orthopaedics- The main supplier to our orthotics service, Janet Smith (Head of Sustainability at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust), Dr Nicky Eddison (Orthotics Service Manager and now the Trust’s AHP Research Lead), Kate Pugh (Orthotics Clerk now a Project Support Administrator at the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists), and Ndanatsei Mupawaenda (Orthotics Clerk).

Meetings were held monthly and led to:

1. The implementation of telehealth, and the reduction of single-use plastics and packaging.
2. The introduction of biodegradable bags.
3. A reduction in deliveries and the introduction of once-a-week delivery service.
4. The introduction of a large reusable box instead of cardboard boxes for collections and deliveries.
5. The introduction of an electric vehicle for collections and deliveries.
6. The introduction of recycled paper, which was only used when necessary and the implementation of a service that printed and posted all letters externally on recycled paper. This was not only cost-effective but also gave the administrators more time to do other duties.
7. Triaging which was paper-based was changed to an electronic system along with electronic ward logs and goods posted out log.
8. Recycling bins were installed in the department.
9. AFOs were sent to developing countries to be used instead of disposed of.

The impact of those changes:

• 151,913 miles of patient travel saved to and from the hospital. The equivalent of six times around the globe!
• A reduction of 5,621 car parking spaces
• A reduction of 28 tonnes of CO₂emissions in the local area (It would take 14.7 hectares of forest a year to save 28 tonnes of CO₂)
• 1 Quality-adjusted life years saved

The department consists of 12 staff, and it took a team effort to achieve our goals. The outcome of this project is a prime example of how small departments and small changes can have a huge impact. The NHS hopes to reach NET ZERO directly by 2040 and indirectly by 2045.

A personal perspective

As an Orthotic Clerk to be given the opportunity to be part of an award-winning project felt very empowering and fulfilling. To be given the chance to see an idea come to life, present it, and be supported to make changes that benefit both the department and meet the greener NHS objectives helped improve team working within the department and open a new platform for the team to be able to present ideas and be more open about changes they felt would improve efficiency. To see and hear one’s voice being listened to really was and still is life-changing both at work and in home life as now it is a little easier to step out of our comfort zones.