Introduction
The South Yorkshire group was the first Greener Practice group. We have had more time to accumulate links to organisations and people than other groups and enjoy sharing ideas with each other and learning together. There has been a great tradition locally of medical student involvement, and engagement from some retired practitioners too as well as links to ICB and national Greener Practice .
Greener Practicehas organised for medical students to go into practices to deliver carbon reduction actions. If you work in a GP team in Sheffield / South Yorkshire and would like a medical student to come to your practice, please email greenerpractice@gmail.com!
Facilitator: Dr Fran Cundill
Fran is a salaried GP working in North Sheffield. She became involved by making changes in her own practice a few years ago. She initially found it quite daunting and overwhelming, then in the summer of 2020 she watched the fantastic webinars available on the Greener Practice website. She joined the Greener Practice South Yorkshire group and found support, enthusiasm and like-minded people! Since then she has become more and more involved, leading to Fran taking on the facilitation role in February 2022 and doing a leadership fellowship year focusing on sustainability in 22-23.
How we work
We meet mainly on Zoom (sometimes jointly with neighbouring groups) but also meet in person; we meet about 8-9 times a year. We have close links with the SY sustainable respiratory group and are involved in a range of sustainability projects involving teaching both undergraduate (Student Selected Projects) and Postgraduate. We have close links to the ICB and some PCNs we also link to the local faculty and use these to influence them in various ways.
In 2024 we ran an essay competition for all health students working in South Yorkshire with a £200 prize + a copy of Environmentally Sustainable Primary Care after judging by Drs Rammina Yassaiea and Mike Tomson.
Joining
If you are interested in joining the group please email: sygreenerpractice@hotmail.com.
Local resources
Active Travel To support active travel include Pedal Ready and Sheffield CycleBoost provide free cycle confidence lessons to people . Sheffield CycleBoost also lends regular bicycles and e-bikes to key workers.
Here is a map of local Greener Prescribing opportunities.
Active Projects: You will find via this link a range of online Directories listing active projects currently funded to take referrals via green social prescribing routes.
There are contact details for each organisation offering green activity to support mental health and wellbeing, and more information and contact details for how you can refer (or be referred) into an activity. These projects are funded through the government’s Test and Learn programme for green social prescribing (more background on this here.)
You’ll find a Directory for the whole of South Yorkshire, plus a listing for each of Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield.
If you have any queries please get in touch by email on greenprescribing@wildsheffield.com, or call Cassa Townsend on 0114 2634335 (extension 125)
Sheffield Renewables
Sheffield Renewables are a community enterprise who raise money through community share offers to help put solar panels on community buildings including GP surgeries. The panels are installed free, the practice buys electricity from Sheffield Renewables at a cheaper rate and funds raised help support people living in fuel poverty. Sheffield Renewables will also guide practices if they wish to own the panels themselves. If your practice is interested, get in touch with Sheffield Renewables who can put together a personal business case for your practice.
Resources for medical students
Elective and Student Selected Component Opportunities
In Sheffield, Greener Practice S Yorks provides placements for medical students to teach secondary school students about climate change and health, and we also provide opportunities for students to take part in the Green Impact for Health toolkit with GP practices. We supported a student in an elective to develop resources on education about air pollution, and are happy to support future students on electives.
Active Travel to Placements
In Sheffield, one of our former medical students, Meelie Smith, has created a wonderful website encouraging students to cycle to placements. She hopes to build up this resource with information about General Practice placements, so if you are a GP in Sheffield and have information to share, please contact Meelie at asmith35@sheffield.ac.uk .
Recycling for GP surgeries
Unfortunately small businesses have to pay for recycling services. Greener Practice South Yorkshire has negotiated a reduced price for GPs who want to have a recycling collection, through Recycling Revolution, a not for profit social enterprise. Please mention that you have heard about this discount from Greener Practice.
Healthy Planet Sheffield
We also support Healthy Planet Sheffield, who are a Medics Climate Action Group who educate, advocate and act on the intersections between climate change and human health in Sheffield. They work with the university’s Medical School to improve sustainability and teaching on this topic and are using their recent findings on the Planetary Health Report Card to push for change in the curriculum.
GP Fellowships
These are available in SY for those in the first 5 years after completion of training.
Here is the one for Yorkshire and Humber Deanery.
If you are a GP in the South Yorkshire and North Trent Region, don’t forget to apply for the Green Impact award which is a competition for those in the region. The result will normally be announced at the RCGP SYNT dinner around October. Even the smallest actions make you eligible to apply, and this is done at the click of a button in the “Special” section.
Sheffield Climate Alliance is an alliance of local organisations and individuals who are pressing for fair and effective action to tackle climate change. They have a great website with links to local events.
Nature Based Activities in South Yorkshire
There are many initiatives in South Yorkshire to encourage engagement with, and physical activity in, nature: Sheffield Wildlife Trust, Wild at Heart, Greenfingers, Heeley City Farm, Herdings Food Growers, Sheffield Environmental Movement, Peak District Natural Park Mindfulness Walks and Manor Development Trust, Well with Nature. The outdoor city, the Sheffield directory and the Sheffield mental health directory have up to date lists of community activities including ones in nature. Walking for Purpose is a Sheffield based project for people over 16 who need help who are looking for work; the project incorporates regular organised walks, for health and wellbeing, followed by employability sessions. This is a superb initiative for addressing health and social inequalities at the same time as encouraging physical activity outdoors.
Sheffield Foodworks
Achieving a healthy, sustainable diet can be tricky on a limited budget and with little time for shopping sustainably or for cooking. A local Sheffield charity, Food Works, provides healthy cooked meals which can be collected from local hubs around Sheffield. They also supply boxes of groceries for very modest prices, to support families wanting to eat healthily.
Move More Sheffield is an organisation that encourages the people of Sheffield to become more active. Their website gives excellent information on how to stay active, including staying active at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
StepOut Sheffield is an organisation which offers 58 walks across 28 locations across the city, many of which start in local communities and do not require transport to get there. These walks are great for encouraging physical activity but also reduce social isolation. Walks can be tailored for different levels of fitness, so that people with specific conditions (such as heart disease, for example) can take part.
Sheffield Cycling4All is a project run by Disability Sheffield. They run sessions for people with disabilities to use adapted trikes, and to enjoy weekly exercise rides in Hillsborough park.
Active Travel in South Yorkshire
More information:
- Medical student project: Would you like a student to help you with a QI project?
Greener Practice runs a very successful self selected student project for Sheffield medical school. Medical students are placed in Sheffield practices for 6 week blocks to deliver sustainability initiatives to practices. These could include clinical and non-clinical projects, and many students have performed very useful quality improvement projects for practices that will help satisfy CQC, and may also save money. Around 20 practices have had students at least once, and about 12 practices have loved having students so much that they request them again and again! All we ask of the practices is that, in exchange for a small payment from Greener Practice, a practice representative meets with the students briefly each week to direct the work the practices would like done; the projects need to have at least one expected positive planetary health outcome such as carbon reduction, improved biodiversity, reduced air pollution etc. All teaching is provided by Greener Practice tutors.
If your practice would be interested in having a student please email greenerpractice@gmail.com