Primary Care Division environmental sustainability project accepted to Bevan Exemplar Programme
The Primary Care Division is delighted to have the only project in Public Health Wales to be accepted onto Cohort 7 of the Bevan Exemplar programme.
This innovative environmental sustainability project, Greener Primary Care, led by the Primary Care Hub, has been accepted to the Bevan Exemplar Programme under the theme of ‘Doing things differently for a prudent sustainable recovery’. Angharad Wooldridge and Victoria Hannah, both Senior Public Health Practitioners will be joining the Bevan programme. The project will be overseen by Sian Evans, Consultant in Public Health.
“I am very pleased that this work has been accepted as a Bevan Exemplar and we look forward to working with the Bevan Commission to enhance this project” Zoe Wallace, Director Primary Care.
Whilst scoping the project, the team has worked in collaboration with partners including Welsh Government and the 4 independent contractor professional bodies in Wales to develop a bespoke Greener Primary Care framework and assessment process. The actions and categories within the framework will be aligned to the NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan, published in March 2021, and the ambitious commitments in the Programme for Government to deliver a green transformation to address the climate and nature emergency. Actions being scoped include those that encourage new ways of working through digital solutions and public health priority interventions. Actions will be mapped to the Wellbeing Goals of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) 2015 Act and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The framework is being designed as a practical tool to support individual dental, optometric, community pharmacy and general practices; primary care professional collaborates and primary care clusters to take individual, professional and organisational action to support this agenda in the Welsh context. The framework will support primary care colleagues to meet the Senedd Cymru net zero emissions target for public sectors by 2030 and all sectors by 2050.
Public Health Wales and the Primary Care Hub are well placed to provide system leadership for this work and deliver a once for Wales approach across all independent primary care contractors.
The team are excited to embark on their journey as Bevan Exemplars and share their learning with colleagues across the organisation. A Greener Primary Care webpage will soon be available via the PCOne website.
To share your thoughts on the project email Angharad.Wooldridge@wales.nhs.uk
Footnote: Bevan Exemplars are health and care staff from across Wales who are supported by the Bevan Commission to develop and test their own innovative ideas over a 12-month period. As Wales’ leading health and care think tank, the Bevan Commission and its group of international health and care experts will provide expertise, learning and networking opportunities for the team leading the project.