Supporting Sustainability in Community Nursing – a new QNI Report
21 February 2025
The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has published a new report focusing on environmental sustainability in community nursing.
The new report is based on the growing evidence and knowledge base around sustainability, which is now recognised as an essential part of healthcare delivery in all parts of the UK. The QNI, working closely with other organisations, has recognised sustainability as a major opportunity for community health services to show leadership in this area.
Community nurses play a key role in advocating sustainable initiatives in healthcare settings, such as reducing medical waste, implementing eco-friendly practices, supporting awareness campaigns and seeking out alternatives.
Promoting healthier lifestyles is central to the whole multidisciplinary team and to the national policy agenda, and this is closely linked with sustainability in communities everywhere.
The new QNI report takes a thematic approach to the issues, breaking down the challenges into concepts with examples that can be adopted into any community setting. Examples include innovation projects supported by the QNI and focus groups that captured the views of over 100 nurses.
It has been a real pleasure to have been involved in this piece of work, especially working with community nurses who have already started making a difference in reducing the impact of healthcare practices on the environment.
The changes they have made are not only having an impact on sustainability, but also on patient care and improving the way resources are used. Community nurses are ideally placed to continue to make a difference with their problem-solving abilities and innovative ideas.
Dr Amanda Young, the QNI’s Director of Nursing (Innovation and Policy)The report makes recommendations under six headings:
- Education to build nurses’ knowledge
- An enabling infrastructure
- Shared programmes of innovation
- A partnership approach
- Healthcare products
- Empowering our people.
The real-world examples and experiences of nurses demonstrate that they have the ideas and the passion to make healthcare more sustainable, but this must be supported by others in the system including procurement, estates and senior management.
By prioritising sustainability, nurses and healthcare services can enable local communities to enjoy better physical, mental and emotional health, and can protect the quality of the environment for future generations.
The ‘Supporting Sustainability in Community Nursing’ report was funded by NHS England.
Some of the innovation projects described in the QNI report were part of the NGS Elsie Wagg Innovation programme, supported by the National Garden Scheme. The programme supports five nurse-led projects each year that use gardens to improve health and wellbeing in the community.
Join the Green Nursing Challenge!
The QNI is working with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and has been recognised as a Beacon Site. It is also a partner in the Green Nursing Challenge, open for applications until Friday 21 March. For more information, visit the CSH website here.
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