The evidence for acting on air pollution is clear It is estimated that long-term exposure to man-made air pollution in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths as well as contributing to ill- health throughout an individual’s lifetime. Air pollution affects everyone but there are inequalities in exposure and the greatest impact on the most vulnerable.

The evidence for acting on air pollution is clear An October 2018 report by the British Lung Foundation, Toxic air at the doors of the NHS, found that: 2,220 GP practices and 248 hospitals are in areas with average levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that are above the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2 of the biggest children’s hospitals in the country, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Birmingham’s Children Hospital, are located in areas with unsafe levels of pollution. 1 in 3 GP surgeries and 1 in 4 hospitals in England are located in areas that exceed the level of PM2.5 deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.

The Long Term Plan makes a commitment that the NHS will work to reduce air pollution from all sources Two of the biggest sources of air pollution are transport and energy industries and this is why the NHS long term plan (LTP) committed to: Cutting air pollutant emissions from business mileage and fleet by 20% by 2023/24 Ensuring that at least 90% of the NHS fleet uses low-emissions engines (including 25% ultra-low emissions) by 2028 Phasing out primary heating from coal (by 2023/24) and oil (by 2028/29) in NHS sites A number of other LTP commitments will also have a positive impact on air quality (e.g. redesigned outpatient care and greater use of ‘virtual’ appointments)

Some NHS trusts have made progress on reducing mileage and increasing uptake of electric vehicles Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust – travel avoidance Reducing business mileage by nearly 1 million miles – saving health, time, money, carbon and air quality North West Ambulance Trust – EV Rapid Response Vehicles Using EVs in one of the most complex fleet requirements; reducing costs by £4k per vehicle per year

Other NHS trusts have already implemented clean air initiatives GOSH – no idling zones Engaging those on site to ban idling across the estate to improve quality Barts – Cleaner Air Project Providing staff, patients and the community with air pollution advice

What can you do for clean air day? Clean Air Day, is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign, and is a chance to find out more about air pollution, share information with friends and colleagues, and help make the air cleaner and healthier for everyone. Some things that might worth exploring: Would a free Green Fleet Review help to better understand your options for lowering emissions from your fleet? LTP programmes such as greater use of ‘virtual’ GP appointments will reduce the need for patient and staff travel but could you consider the impact of travel within the roll-out of your own work programme or the services you commission? What about personal contributions to emissions, could you walk or cycle to work for the day or make a pledge to stop idling? You can also use the #cleanairday hashtag to further the conversation and to talk about your plans for the day.

Trusts can access a free Green Fleet review funded by the Department for Transport Green Fleet Reviews are funded by the Department for Transport and are provided at no charge for eligible organisations including: SME businesses operating between 20 – 100 vehicles (cars/vans under 3.5 tonnes) based in England, as well as all public sector organisations in England. This includes the NHS.

Don’t be an idler

Further information can be found at: https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/ england.sdu@nhs.net @sduhealth