Posted on: 20 July 2022
West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WY HCP) is supporting primary care providers such as GPs, pharmacy, dentistry, and eye health across West Yorkshire to address climate change within their organisations by launching a climate change toolkit. For many people, their first point of contact with the health service is through primary care. 
In May the WY HCP asked over 100,000 staff and volunteers to be ‘All hands in for a better future’ when they launched their first climate change campaign.
The toolkit is an extension to this work and provides West Yorkshire healthcare providers such as GP practices, pharmacies, opticians, and dental practices with guidance and resources to address climate change.
Climate change poses a major threat to everyone’s future and is one of WY HCP big ten ambitions and where they aspire to become a global leader. For the WY HCP to lead the way in responding to the climate crisis, and to meet their vitally important goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2038, they are committed to making fundamental changes to the way they work, through increased investment, mitigation, and culture change throughout the local health and care system.
The toolkit covers key areas including: understanding carbon; cutting carbon; cutting costs and improving health; community regeneration and primary care in a changing climate. It also includes simple things that healthcare providers can do that can start to make a big difference such as calculating their carbon footprint, using the green impact for health toolkit to reduce it, and taking advantage of local sustainability grants.
Much more work is planned to ensure West Yorkshire primary care providers are equipped to make sustainable swaps that are best for the environment. The WY HCP upcoming ‘green plan’ for primary care will outline what this looks like, as well as shining a light on some of the incredible work already underway.
Frank Swinton, WY HCP Climate Change Lead said: “By making changes to everyday actions, together we can make a positive difference to the environment, to our health and to the wellbeing of our communities. Culture change throughout our health and care system will help us in West Yorkshire to lead the way in responding to the climate crisis. At West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, we’re all hands in for a better future.”
Dr Steve Ollerton Clinical Lead for Primary and Community Care at the WY HCP said “We hope the toolkit will effectively support our primary care colleagues across West Yorkshire. Being ‘All hands in for a better future’ means working together towards meeting our vitally important goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2038. We are committed to making fundamental changes to the way we work and enabling our partners to join this movement with us – in all the ways possible”
The online primary care climate change toolkit is available to download by visiting the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WY HCP) website bit.ly/PcClimateChange