Primary Care Trusts and leadership in sustainability

The UK has the highest incidence of asthma in Europe, construction waste accounts for 50% of our landfill, the NHS produces 7.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, health inequalities are widening, and poor building choices are adding to our reliance on cars to get around, yet health care premises are not yet being designed to address these issues. • Why don’t the boilers installed in our health buildings achieve the lowpollution and high energy efficiency standards routinely specified in northern European countries, saving the Trust money in the long term? • How can we ensue that the materials used to fit out new doctors’ surgeries don’t have an adverse impact on the health of staff and patients? • Should a new surgery be built at the heart of the community or should we develop any site that happens to be available? • How can we involve the community in the design of the new premises, to make sure that we are meeting demand and helping to promote public health?