'Should we cut the beef?': Questions as NHS trust approves environmental plan

Questions have been raised over whether the NHS trust running Wexham Park Hospital could ‘be braver’ with its sustainability ambitions as its new Green Plan was approved.

Environmentally harmful menu options including beef should be off the table as part of the plan, which will guide its planning until 2028, a board of directors meeting heard this week.

The NHS is responsible for up to five per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the Government has set a target for the whole organisation to reach net-zero by 2045.

At NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust’s board of directors meeting at Wexham Park on Friday (November 7), top officials discussed the Green Plan.

Jackie Westaway, one of its directors, said: “The more specific point is whether we should be braver around saying we’re going to, actually, actively going to cut our use of beef in our food.

“You [in the Green Plan] talk about having a bit more plant-based et cetera, well, we absolutely know that beef is really terrible for the environment, and it’s actually terrible for people’s health.

“Now, there may be considerations which I’m not [aware of, but] I do wonder if we should say, actually, we’re going to explicitly cut the amount of beef we use by x per cent."

A board of directors meeting took place at Wexham Park Hospital last week

The trust’s 27-page Green Plan includes strategies to reduce its environmental impact, such as promoting travel options like electric vehicles and transitioning to renewable energy.

New planning details were submitted to Slough Borough Council this week, regarding a plan to place solar panels across many of the rooftops at Wexham Park Hospital.

But the impact of food options available for the 1.25million people its hospitals treat a year, as well as its 13,500 staff, are also under consideration.

The trust pre-orders food for patients at Wexham Park, Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, and it prepares food on-site at Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley.  

Introducing a new digital menu would cut down on paper and save an estimated £15,000 to £20,000, the Green Plan said.

A policy of reusable only drink and coffee cups will also be introduced, in addition to looking at introducing food waste dehydration measures.

A menu review will be undertaken with a view to reducing carbon-intensive options, as well as introducing more sustainable food supply chains.

The trust’s chief strategy officer James Clarke responded to the question from Ms Westaway, as well as directors John Lisle and Janet Rubin.

Mr Lisle and Ms Rubin had asked questions about strategies to reduce emissions by cutting down patient travel times, as well as how staff could help achieve the Green Plan.

Mr Clarke said: “We have one head of sustainability - for an organisation that’s a billion pounds and 14,000 people, so that’s not Fanny’s [Fanny Burrows] job to make this organisation green, that’s everyone’s job.

He added: “The beef point is well-made one Jackie, I think we need to look at that in our menu review as something we could take forward.”

The Green Plan was approved unanimously.