26 September 2022

Chester Cornford, Mental Health Nurse at CNWL’s South Kensington and Chelsea Community Mental Health Hub and Dr Amelia Cussans, Psychiatry Trainee have co-authored a research paper for the Journal of Climate Change and Health.

Read the full paper.

The article seeks to establish what progress has been made by UK health organisations to tackle the climate and ecological emergency, and it is the first known peer-reviewed study of its kind.

The project was developed to provide health institutions with a template to inform future strategy and to serve as a call to action for the health community on climate change.

UK-based medical, nursing and allied health colleges, faculties and regulators of medical, pharmaceutical, nursing and midwifery professionals were invited to take part in a cross-sectional survey. Of the 28 invited, 11 participated, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The conclusion reads:

“This report identifies positive climate action alongside opportunities for growth among UK health organizations. Although considerable advances are being made, these are not to the scale or speed required to secure a liveable future for all.”

Dr Amelia Cussans said: “We hope these scorecards will help health institutions collectively transform in response to the climate and ecological crises.”

The team plans to repeat the survey in the future to track and encourage further progress. 

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