N3: supporting a green agenda for the NHS
The NHS has one of the largest carbon footprints in the UK, estimated at 18 million tonnes CO2 per year. This is 3.2% of all carbon emissions and 25% of public sector emissions in England.
In its first carbon reduction strategy published at the beginning of 2009, the NHS has pledged to meet the Climate Change Act targets of 26% reduction by 2020 and 80% reduction by 2050. It will be a huge challenge and Information Communication Technology is recognised as having a key part to play.
How can N3 help the NHS achieve this?
N3 has been a key enabler in helping the NHS achieve their targets in a number of ways; including accessibility to national applications and providing products and services that can help organisations improve environmental efficiency.
N3 provides access to the one million images that are stored electronically every single day (PACS), providing savings on film, transport and staff costs, including a saving to the NHS of £50m on film processing, and to trusts of around 1million litres of water per year. Over 200m prescriptions have already been sent electronically over N3, leading to big paper savings.
Greater Glasgow Nursing Homes Medical Practice are using N3's Remote Worker service to improve standards of patient care. With the N3 Remote worker service, practitioners are able to access clinical applications wherever they are, eliminating the need to return to the medical centre. Patients seen in the most remote of nursing homes experience the patient care they would receive if visiting the medical centre. There are over 18,000 VPN Tokens in use, enabling staff to remain connected to central applications and e-mail when away from their normal place of work, or working from home.
What can N3 do to help reduce carbon emissions?
There are many opportunities to reduce power consumption by investigating and deploying sustainable technologies. N3 core and access networks are in the process of being made more energy efficient.
Dr David Pencheon, Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, stresses the significance of N3 in underpinning the NHS sustainability agenda "One thing we can do, instead of moving all those people around is to move information around. That's where the huge importance of network technology- such as the N3 broadband network provided by BT is so influential".
We must also stimulate a change in the way people work and how patients receive their care. The Kent and Medway CoIN supports the Kent Cardiovascular Network. Cardiac patients are now being diagnosed and treated sooner because images such as angiograms are sent electronically to specialist treatment centres. Previously angiograms were saved to CD and sent with the patient to treatment centres for diagnosis. The N3 CoIN has reduced time in sending images from a week to two minutes and surgeons in London are able to advise in minutes whether a patient needs life saving emergency treatment.
