CTM Emergency Departments Awarded Bronze GreenED Status by Royal College of Emergency Medicine
The Emergency Departments at Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital and Princess of Wales Hospital have been awarded Bronze GreenED Status by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
GreenED is an RCEM initiative to measure and reduce the environmental impact of Emergency Departments, aimed to drive and encourage environmentally sustainable practices within the speciality of Emergency Medicine.
Departments can sign-up to the programme and work towards achieving various evidence-based actions that are divided into Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. Addressing these actions not only improves the environmental sustainability of an ED but contributes to national net zero targets and creates financial savings while maintaining or improving patient care.
To achieve Bronze GreenED status, the departments each implemented a series of actions to improve sustainable working practices. This included undertaking review of waste streams, ensuring recycling policies were in place, reducing electricity use, utilising recycled paper, working to eliminate excessive dispensing of medicines, and ensuring that sustainability initiatives are part of staff induction for each new starter.
Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM’s President Elect said: “On behalf of the College – a huge congratulations to the teams at Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital and Princess of Wales Hospital who have implemented a range of environmentally sustainable practices within their Emergency Departments through our GreenED programme.
“The accreditations awarded are a testament to their passion, innovation and drive to reduce emissions, waste and costs to tackle the climate crisis. By doing so, they are creating a greener future – not only for the health of our planet, but the health of our patients and we are proud to support them in their environmental mission.”
Dev Patel, Consultant Emergency Medicine at Royal Glamorgan Hospital said: “A huge well done to everyone involved in achieving our Bronze GreenED accreditation. This is a fantastic milestone and reflects the commitment and passion of our team to creating a more sustainable Emergency department. As we now set our sights of Silver actions, we’ll need even greater support, collaboration and innovation across the department and from wider hospital and health board teams. Whether this is through ideas, small changes in practices or helping drive new initiatives, every contribution counts. Let’s keep the momentum and continue to building a greener, more sustainable future together.”
Sarah Evans, Registrar at Prince Charles Hospital said: "We are extremely pleased to have been awarded the Bronze Green ED accreditation. This would not have been achievable without the hard work and dedication of our green team within the department, who have all worked to make our department more sustainable. We have also been supported by the wider CTM team, other Green Leads across Welsh EDs, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the Welsh Government and are grateful for their help. We hope to continue the work we have started and plan to work towards Silver accreditation in the coming year.”
Alex Ereaut, Emergency Department Consultant at Princess of Wales Hospital said: "We are really pleased to have been awarded the Bronze Green ED accreditation. This recognises the efforts to improve sustainability in the Emergency Department at the Princess of Wales Hospital. This would not have been possible without the hard work of staff both in the department and across the wider health board. We are grateful to have had the support of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the Welsh Government. It has been inspiring to share ideas with likeminded sustainability champions from across Wales. We are excited to build momentum and continue to reduce our environmental impact."
Calum Shaw, Sustainability Manager said: “This is fantastic achievement from our Emergency Departments across CTM. This award is testament to all the time and hard work they have put in towards delivering sustainable change.”
28/07/25