The GIRFT team has published the methodological framework it uses to support the programme’s work on rapid decarbonisation of clinical care pathways.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal Evidence Based Medicine, is entitled Environmental Lessons Learned and Applied (ELLA): a new framework for identifying, prioritising and implementing decarbonisation interventions in clinical care pathways and describes GIRFT’s ELLA framework, which allows decarbonisation opportunities within care pathways to be quickly and easily identified and prioritised.
The NHS has a significant carbon footprint, producing 4-5% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and NHS England is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Developing environmentally sustainable models of clinical care is one of the key priorities to help achieve this ambition.
GIRFT is working in collaboration with Greener NHS to develop greener pathways in areas where there is the most potential for the NHS to improve or maintain the quality of patient care while mitigating its environmental impact, delivering cost savings and efficiencies and maintaining or improving the quality of care for patients.
The work is also being carried out in collaboration with colleagues across the UK and internationally, part funded by the UKRI/NIHR funded Sustainable Health Systems Hub at University of Exeter, of which GIRFT is a key partner.
The ELLA methodology has already been applied to bladder cancer care and total hip replacement pathways, and further guides on total knee replacement, urological stones and skin lesion pathways are being developed.
Read more about our work on Net Zero and Sustainability here.
The GIRFT colleagues who authored the study are:
- Joseph John – Lead for sustainable care pathway development
- William Gray – Academic content lead
- Edward Nickell – Content development lead
- Keiran O’Flynn – Joint clinical lead for urology
- John McGrath – Joint clinical lead for urology
- Professor Tim Briggs – GIRFT programme lead and NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement, Elective Recovery and UEC
