The Government’s new mandate to the NHS must set achievable goals and a workable framework to help NHS professionals to shift to sustainable care.

Circular healthcare holds the key to NHS sustainability. Reutilising resources where possible is an obvious way to cut unnecessary consumption, waste, and emissions, but it’s a practice that’s far from commonplace.

Healthcare is typically done in a linear fashion, whereby products are procured, used, and disposed of. Indeed, NHS providers recycle only around 5% of plastic waste, compared with a rate of around 42% for UK households, while the linear use of high-value medical products is the cost equivalent of throwing away a new phone after making a single call.

Sustainability across the health economy

Scaling up circular products and processes requires a cultural overhaul in the NHS workforce. But how can professionals better recycle, and what exactly are we expecting them to do with the waste?

The Government’s Design for Life Roadmap to develop a circular med-tech economy counts several circular options. Products can be repaired, remanufactured (via the product maker), repurposed (for alternative use), reprocessed (e.g. sterilised to allow its reuse), or recycled (split for high-value parts).

Expertise must be built up to navigate these circular options. While the Government has committed to removing single use med-tech products from use (where possible) by 2045, UK Research and Innovation’s MedTech Spotlight Report identified that the UK currently lacks the technical ability, incentives, and protections to enable products to be reprocessed.

The NHS Clinical Waste Strategy meanwhile has set targets for better waste segregation in hospitals, but appropriate training for health professionals can fall short; even waste managers report limited training on the segregation of clinical waste streams.

Amidst the burning pressure of meeting patient need, to secure their buy-in for sustainability targets, professionals need guidance to navigate these options and shift the status quo.

Seeding the sustainable health revolution

If the Government’s impending long-term NHS reforms are to secure a sustainable NHS future, it’s essential that a positive vision for sustainable care is set, coupling achievable objectives with guidance and education to help the workforce to adopt circular practices.

A new government mandate to the NHS will support longer-term planning aligned with the new 10 Year Health Plan to be issued in the spring. This must set out objectives, from procuring the right products to sorting waste appropriately, to help meet long-term sustainability goals, and come with guidance for cross-departmental collaboration to meet shared sustainability objectives.

These themes and more will be considered in Policy Connect’s Sustainable NHS Mandate parliamentary roundtable on Monday 24 February 2025, to be held with the All-Party Groups on Health and Sustainable Resources and chaired by Baroness Margaret Ritchie.

For more information, and if interested in joining the event, please contact our Policy Manager Gaelan Komen via gaelan.komen [at] policyconnect.org.uk (gaelan[dot]komen[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)