The Greener Practice Lancashire and Cumbria group started coming together in late 2023 with a small number of enthusiastic individuals and we now have almost 50 members on our WhatsApp Group, comprising staff from across Lancashire and Cumbria primary care, the ICB and medical students. We share information and opportunities on the WhatsApp group and case-studies and resources on our website: Greener NHS :: Home (icb.nhs.uk).
We would love to hear from anybody interested in joining us.
Achievements in our area over the last year include:
Achievements in our area over the last year include:
- 2h workshop led by the Clinical Lead has been attended by over 100 trainee GPs. Trainees are encouraged to undertake a final year project around environmental sustainability. This project was shortlisted for the North West Coast Research and Innovation Sustainability Award 2025
- Greener Practice lunchtime webinars take place every other month focusing on a different area of sustainability each month. A series of lunchtime webinars for Great Big Green week are available on our Greener ICB internet site here along with other resources such as Waiting Room videos.
- 30% of our GP practices have nominated Green leads.
- 45 GP practices across Lancashire signed up to Destination Net Zero programme providing council funded audit that leads to a bespoke carbon reduction plan and funding advice.
- Active Travel Lancashire funding has enabled 12 GP practices to improve their cycling infrastructure, 2 of which now use electric bikes for patient visits.
- A staff member from all 275 practices has received an introduction to the Green Plan, usually via practice manager forums.
- Medicines Management team delivering sustainable medicines training to practices.
- Clinical waste segregation has been identified as an issue from audit pilot. Promotional material and engagement sessions ongoing to promote use of tiger bags instead of yellow and orange bags for clinical waste.
- ICB Joint Working Project with Astra Zeneca to optimise asthma treatment has resulted in over 700 patients switching to low carbon inhalers.
- Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) funding has been used by Redmoor Health to develop a digital roadmap to net zero- Pilot stage completed and rollout of the resource underway.
Chair – Dr Sarah Hopkins
Dr Sarah Hopkins is a GP and Clinical Lead for Greener NHS in Primary Care in Lancashire and South Cumbria. Sarah’s interest in sustainable healthcare stems from a concern at the rise of non-communicable ill health conditions and excessive use of prescription drugs to manage them. She believes the same lifestyle factors that cause chronic ill health also link directly to the climate crisis. She has developed an extended role in lifestyle medicine to begin to address this and is passionate about increasing skills in lifestyle medicine as a way of improving population and planetary health.
With a background in Medical Education she has taken this skill mix out to the GP training schemes across the ICB delivering workshops to GPs in training and encouraging them to embark on sustainable quality improvement projects as part of their training. She is working with the Green NHS team and hopes to work alongside Population Health to develop Sustainable Models of care especially in Asthma and Type 2 Diabetes.
Chair – Allison Sathiyanathan
Allison Sathiyanathan is the Net Zero Project Manager for Lancashire & South Cumbria. After working as a Medical Physicist for a number of years in London she moved to teach science in rural Zimbabwe and her interest in environmental sustainability began.
In her current role she has the opportunity to promote the green agenda within all sectors of the NHS and work with colleagues who are as equally passionate about the environment. Collaboration, both within the NHS and externally with other public organisations and the voluntary sector is key within her role and is the most efficient and effect way to make positive impact and change in culture.
If you are interested in joining us or want to find out more, please contact Allison by emailing: allison.sathiyanathan@nhs.net.