Making asthma care ‘ greener ’
Yorkshire & Humber AHSN is working with Dr Crooks and his team to support further adoption of this programme across other parts of the region , to help reduce the reliance on blue inhalers .
We have played an instrumental part in SENTINEL becoming part of the Accelerated Access Collaborative ( AAC ) Rapid Uptake Products ( RUP ) programme and it is currently running across six primary care networks ( PCN ) in Hull and East Riding – a region with 40,000 asthma patients and some of the highest rates of blue inhaler use in the country .
Not only is the SENTINEL project about improving care for asthma patients , it is also committed to reducing the associated carbon footprint that comes with prescribing blue inhalers . Changes in prescribing has reduced the number of blue inhalers used by nearly 16,308 units , equating to an offset of 457 metric tonnes in CO2 emissions which is equivalent to 571 transatlantic flights from Leeds to New York . In
March , the programme was named the ‘ Environmental Sustainability Project of the Year ’ at the 2022 HSJ Partnership Awards .
In 2021-22 we organised two free virtual events open to all NHS professionals with an interest in asthma care . The events were led by clinical experts in respiratory medicine and provided an opportunity not only to learn more about improving patient outcomes in asthma care , but also to network and create future collaborations across primary and secondary care . More than 400 people registered for the events and the feedback was excellent . These events gave us the opportunity to identify areas that can benefit from further support , and we shared examples of good practice to help improve care outcomes for asthmatic patients .
Environmental impacts of the SENTINEL project
Prescriptions of blue inhalers reduced by over
Over
457 metric tonnes
16,000 units of CO2e emissions have been offset
Equivalent to
more than 571 transatlantic flights
25 Transforming Lives Through Innovation