Environmentally-friendly plans to improve sustainability at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust have been outlined in a new Green Plan.

The plan will guide UHMBT's drive to deliver significant sustainability improvements as part of its contribution to delivering a net zero NHS.   

The plan has designed to address sustainability across every aspect of the trust's work, from heating and electricity to specialist areas like prescribing medicines with a low carbon footprint. Examples of these improvement targets include: continually increasing renewable energy purchases until 100 per cent of electricity is provided by non-fossil fuels; deliver at least 25 per cent of outpatient activity remotely; and eliminate use of volatile anaesthetic gas.

Aaron Cummins, chief executive at the trust, said: "This Green Plan is an important next step in UHMBT’s sustainability journey, bringing together environmental targets from across our operations for the first time to form a route map towards net zero by 2040.

"Although 2040 may sound a long way away, we aim to achieve an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions as soon as 2028. That ambitious target means there is no time to waste. Colleagues within our trust have already made good progress in improving the sustainability of our operations. This plan aims to build on what we have achieved so far and combine various programmes of activity into a single sustainability vision."