Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the NHS to procure (a) sustainable and (b) upcycled medical garments.

The National Health Service has committed to reaching net zero by 2045 for the emissions it influences through the goods and services it buys from its partners and suppliers. This includes a greater focus on procuring and using sustainable and reusable medical garments where this is safe and effective, such as reusable sterile gowns.

To support this, NHS England is working with NHS organisations to share best practice and evidence-based approaches, understand operational challenges, for example, requirements for laundry infrastructure, and support the inclusion of lots to procure reusable medical textile services within relevant procurement frameworks. NHS England supported the Royal Surgical Colleges to develop and promote the Green Theatre Checklist to encourage sustainable theatre approaches, including medical garments. The checklist is available at the following link:

https://www.rcsed.ac.uk/professional-support-development-resources/environmental-sustainability-and-surgery/green-theatre-checklist

NHS England is also supporting innovation through the Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare programme, which has funded a project to support reuse of surgical textiles. More information is available at the following link:

https://sbrihealthcare.co.uk/impact-case-studies/case-studies/revolution-zero

The Department continues to work closely with the Greener NHS programme in NHS England to support the NHS to meet its net zero targets, including a focus on procuring and using sustainable and reusable products where this is safe and effective.