The Green Healthcare Leadership Programme, co-created by The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) and Nuffield Health and supported by NHS England, has awarded its second round of leadership scholarships.
The scholarships were awarded to Kate Stables, Nuffield Health Plymouth Hospital and Suzy Moody, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust who impressed the judges with their sustainable healthcare projects at the Celebration Event in London on Tuesday 26 March.
The programme, now in its second year, celebrated the achievements on Tuesday of 44 nurses, midwives and allied health professions (AHPs) from the independent sector and nurses and midwives from the NHS in England, who all completed the challenge of implementing quality improvement projects to support environmental sustainability in their workplaces. These projects include carbon-reduction and waste management initiatives that have resulted in greater use of reusables, reduction of clinical waste, and initiatives that de-carbonise patient pathways.
“I am delighted that both Kate and Suzy will be joining the Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarship Programme, said Gemma Stacey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
“In a short space of time, their projects have both made a real difference, both in reducing waste but also embedding a sustainable healthcare culture among the wider hospital team. I’m looking forward to seeing their progress as they develop as scholars, following an in-depth personal development plan to enhance their leadership skills. All the nurses, midwives and allied health professionals completing the programme have achieved so much with their projects and there will be a potential ripple effect across the nursing profession,” added Gemma.
Ben Davies, Organisational Development Director at Nuffield Health, commented: “Both Kate and Suzy’s projects and work throughout the programme show that nurses, midwives and allied health professionals have a key part to play in cultivating clinical excellence through sustainable service improvements.
"There were fantastic results from many of the other participants and it shows that nurses and allied health professionals have a key part to play in cultivating clinical excellence through sustainable service improvements. That’s why we created the Green Healthcare Leadership Programme with the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
"This programme will support nurses and midwives to transform the way we deliver healthcare to ensure that we can together reach net zero targets – and in doing so, give humanity a fighting chance at curbing the worse impacts of climate change.”
In the first year of the Green Healthcare Leadership Programme (which started in October 2022), 18 nurses from across the independent sector completed the programme. Rachael Brown, Infection Prevention Nurse at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital, was awarded a Florence Nightingale Foundation scholarship for her sustainable healthcare project that reduces the use of couch covers at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital.
The second year of the programme started on 17 October 2023 and nurses and midwives working in the NHS in England (bands 5-7) took part (in addition to nurses and allied health professionals from the independent sector) with 44 completing the programme.
Professor Charlotte McArdle, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “We are delighted to see these two leadership scholarships awarded. As the largest single group of staff in the NHS, nurses and midwives have a unique role in supporting the NHS’s net zero ambition and bringing about sustainable change.
“It is great to see how Suzy and Kate’s work, and the work of other participants in the FNF Green Leadership Programme, has had a positive impact and I hope all the nurses and midwives who have taken part feel empowered to continue leading and implementing changes in their workplace to deliver high quality care that is more cost and carbon efficient.”
The programme supports nurses and midwives to explore and enhance their personal leadership knowledge, skills and attributes empowering them to innovate and lead change. Each nurse, midwife or allied health professional led a sustainability quality improvement project. The programme is delivered in partnership with a team of leadership development and sustainable healthcare experts from the Eden Project, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), the Florence Nightingale Foundation and Nuffield Health. The programme included a short residential at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
