Sustainability - What you can do as a patient

What can you do as a patient to be more sustainable?

Below are some ideas of small changes you can make. These can help the environment, and some of them could save you money too.

Let us know if you have other ideas about what Mile Oak Medical Centre or patients can do to be more sustainable. And please come and join our Patient Participation Group.

Return any medication you no longer need and your used inhalers to a pharmacy for safe disposal. Never put your inhalers in your household waste.

Please take your empty medicine blister packs to a Superdrug or a Boots store for recycling.
Think about giving friends and families a gift with a sustainable difference. Give a tree at https://plantyourpostcode.org/donate/aims or https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/give/dedications/to. The environmental, social, and emotional benefits of planting trees are well known. Trees store carbon and provide shade. They also regulate the microclimate, support wildlife, reduce air pollution and reduce flooding. Trees provide a better living environment so improve our own health and wellbeing.
Take your own bags shopping so you do not need to buy a plastic bag from the shop.
When there is a choice, try and buy produce that is not sold in a plastic bag.
Consider using shops that allow you to refill your own containers.
Repair instead of throwing away. See the Brighton Repair Café for more information: https://brightonrepaircafe.wordpress.com/. Every month they have a social event where you can bring items to repair.

You can reduce your use of single use plastic by using a refillable water bottle. When visiting the Practice and need a refill you can and fill it from our water cooler in our waiting room. Businesses in the Refill Brighton scheme are on this website (https://www.refill.org.uk/refill-brighton-hove/).
Plastic-free menstrual products save money and waste. You can find out more at City to Sea (https://www.citytosea.org.uk/campaign/plastic-free-periods/). Please ask us during your appointment if you have any questions.
Consider plastic free options such as laundry detergent sheets rather than laundry liquid.
For other ways to reduce your use of plastic see the websites: City To Sea or Plastic Free Challenge.

One of the biggest environmental impacts you can have is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy you eat. There are lots of recipes online if you want to make small changes to what you eat, even on one or two days of the week. You could try https://meatfreemondays.com/ for recipe ideas and try 'Dairy Free Tuesday'. Or look at this website for some ideas: https://veganuary.com/recipes/
Buy Fair Trade products. These ensure decent working conditions, terms of trade and prices for producers. It also ensures local sustainability where products are grown/produced.

Walk or cycle to Mile Oak Medical Centre for your appointments where possible or share a lift. We have cycle racks that you are welcome to use. Please see our ‘How do I get here?’ page for more information
Use public transport to get to your appointments at the practice or elsewhere. The number 1 bus stops right outside. You can find out more about Brighton and Hove buses here
Think about using the train instead of driving places and try and reduce the amount of flying you do.

To reduce our use of paper, we send messages to patients through the waiting room screen, by text, or email. Please make sure we have your up to date contact details at all times. We also have our own Facebook page.
We encourage patients to use online forms, rather than paper-based forms. These are being introduced to our website.

Where possible, the Practice is reducing over-prescribing. We reduce medications in the best interest of the patient. We may also be able to suggest other ways you can help manage your condition. This could be through such as diets, exercise and support groups. This can reduce the amount of medication prescribed, which is good for you and good for the planet. Please discuss this with our pharmacy team if you would like more information. Our diabetic patients can access an evidence-based NHS low-calorie diet programme. Please discuss this at your next diabetic review to see if you are eligible.
If you have asthma the Practice Nurse will tell you if a dry powder inhaler may be suitable. Find out more about this here. Dry powder inhalers are much better for the environment and are often the best choice for our health.
Some patients need to continue using Metered Dose Inhalers. We encourage patients to use every dose from their inhaler. Once finished, please return it to the pharmacy for recycling.
Talk to your health care professional if you have concerns about this and see Choosing Wisely.

We support patients to improve their health and wellbeing, through self-referral routes.
We are a Parkrun Practice. We encourage you to take part in the local Parkruns in Hove Park or Hove Promenade, or Lancing. These start at 9am on Saturdays. This is a chance to get fitter, enjoy the outdoors and meet new people. If you don't want to run (or walk) the route, then you can always join in by volunteering and cheering participants on.
Patients can join one of the many local health walks that take place in Brighton and Hove. Please sign up to the BetterPoints app so you can earn points to spend in local shops. Or you can choose to donate your points to local charities.