Nurse's NHS climate work recognised

Ebenezer Akore Yeboah had worked on reducing carbon emissions in the NHS

An emergency department nurse from Coventry has been recognised for his work tackling the carbon footprint of the NHS.

Ebenezer Akore Yeboah, a PhD researcher at Coventry University, was looking at cutting the waste of single-use plastics, properly sorting waste and reducing power consumption.

It is estimated by the health service that the NHS accounts for 4% of England's total carbon footprint.

The researcher's work earned him a commendation and involvement in an international conference from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The 27-year-old moved to the UK from Ghana just over two years ago after qualifying as a nurse in his home country.

He combined his work at hospitals in Coventry and Warwick with PhD research at the university's Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities.

His work included a global survey of nurses to understand how their work affected climate change, which was completed by 500 people in 56 countries.

'Beautiful journey'

Mr Akore Yeboah said: "When people are displaced by situations created by climate change, health professionals are the ones to look after them and when we are doing that we are adding to the carbon footprint."

He also recommended sustainability training for nurses and greener NHS purchasing.

Looking back on what he had achieved since arriving in Britain, Mr Akore Yeboah said: “It’s been a beautiful journey – the UK is a land of opportunity when I look at how much I’ve been able to achieve in just over two years.

"In Ghana I read about the RCN in textbooks and now I’m part of it and have won a national award.”