9 OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2025EMBEDDING CHANGE AND SUSQI So, what is the solution? As a healthcare professional and registered nurse, Quality Improvement (QI) is in my DNA. I want to use my clinical knowledge and background to propel sustainable innovation at Circle Health Group. Coming up with a solution to how healthcare can become more sustainable is not just the remit of our colleagues in estate management, finance or procurement. As clinicians, nurses and doctors we can make the biggest difference far easier than we think. Sustainable Quality Improvement "SusQI for short" is a way of thinking about sustainability and crucially, acknowledging and bridging the skills gap currently impacting the healthcare sector's ability to drive change quickly. At its core, it asks us to think about the sustainable value of the care we deliver. In short, how can we use the resources available to us to improve the outcomes for our patients in a way that does not harm the planet? Quality has always been measured in how quickly we can diagnose, treat and improve the quality of life for a patient. SusQI does not change that. With a new formula, dubbed The Tripple Bottom Line, we can measure not just the benefit to the patient, but also whether the approach to treatment delivers for the wider community and the environment. IN PRACTICE When I joined Circle Health Group, in September 2024, I was determined to go beyond just emissions management when it came to sustainability. SusQI has become the bedrock of our approach to sustainability. We are equipping our people to lead the innovation for themselves with the knowledge to see and measure the value in real terms. So far, we have already halved our use of nitrous oxide gas as part of a wider push to embed the Intercollegiate Green Theatre Checklist across our UK wide hospital network. Additional projects to reuse walking aids, like crutches, have demonstrated a sustainable cost saving of over £80,000 and further pilot work on chemotherapy drugs is forecasting savings in excess of £1 million. These are small changes demonstrate that sustainability in our sector can do more than just switch off lights. CONCLUSION As we move closer to the 2040 net-zero target it would be easy to think, that as sector, we will miss the opportunity to do more than just the sustainable basics. The world doesn't need more ecologists and environmentalists; it needs everyone in their chosen profession to work sustainably. At Circle, we are demonstrating that sustainabilitys future in healthcare can do so much more. Applying the principles of SusQI is showing that incremental changes, led by clinical teams on the ground, can drive tangible change, benefiting not just the bottom line, but patients and the planet. Together, a sustainable approach to healthcare can mean more than just emissions and start being about whats best for the patients of the future. SUSTAINABILITY IN HEALTHCARE ISN'T JUST ABOUT REDUCING EMISSIONS--IT'S ABOUT IMPROVING PATIENT OUTCOMES WHILE SAFEGUARDING THE PLANET FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
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