Dr David Pencheon: The time to act is NOW

Imagine knocking a third off the NHS travel bill, a third of NHS travel off the road, and the resulting drop in emissions – more than 1m tonnes per annum. Not a bad start!

A recent survey of NHS staff suggests that one third of all meetings in the NHS could, and many feel should, be replaced with telephone, web or video conferencing.

We get the opinions of Dr. Robin Stott, Co-chair, Climate and Health council, Dr. David Pencheon, Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), Prof. Ian Gilmore, President, Royal College of Physicians, Dr. Hugh Montgomery, Director, Institute for Human Health and Performance, University College London and Steve Marsden, Manager, BT Environment Strategy.

Robin opens the discussion: "If not us, who; if not now when? Health professionals must act to combat climate change." David continues: "The NHS needs to measure it, understand it and adapt but most importantly we need to adapt to it and mitigate it. The consequences of climate change on human health are profound if we do not act now.

Just like the battle against tobacco, the NHS has a vital role to play. In its 60th year, the NHS is still an iconic and widely respected organisation, and has a responsibility to lead this agenda, not just follow it."

Prof. Gilmore says, "In January 2008 the Royal College of Physicians held a highly successful conference on climate change, relating the topic to its impact on health. Until then physicians had not been at the forefront of environmental issues, but the College conference redressed this with ten powerful presentations ranging from the economics of climate change, to the health co-benefits of climate change policies."

But we all need to take an active role. The changes that need to be made will not happen by accident. There are many opportunities for us to reduce our carbon footprints – both as citizens and as organisations. As part of its internal governance, the Royal College of Physicians has now adopted a range of 'green' policies. Steve says, "At the RCP event, in order to demonstrate the power of communication technology as an aide to reducing carbon emissions, BT 'conferenced' in Dr. James Hansen, Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies from Columbia University, New York. I believe that the technologies that can make a huge difference to the NHS already exist."

Dr. Montgomery told us, it is essential we "use these technologies to save time and money and more importantly, to save the planet and our next generation."

"The NHS needs to get measuring, as individuals, as teams and departments, and as buildings, organisations and countries. We already know that the NHS in England has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world; delivering health care is a high energy, and hence a high carbon, activity," David adds. "The public will not take climate change seriously if the NHS and its 1.3 million staff don't themselves."

David concludes the conversation on a thought-provoking note: "The NHS has both a duty and an opportunity to think hard and act now. This is happening on our watch and it will be our legacy. When our children and our grandchildren say to you in fifty years, 'what did you do to adapt to mitigate climate change in the first half of this century?' make sure you have something to say."