A survey of attitudes, behaviours and barriers to environmental sustainability among healthcare staff at an NHS trust.

Abstract

Introduction: For the National Health Service (NHS) in England to reach the target of Net Zero by 2040, transformation of the attitudes and behaviours of healthcare staff across all levels to promote systematic change is required. An understanding of current attitudes and barriers to change is vital for healthcare leaders and sustainability professionals to identify how they can support and encourage staff to adopt these changes.

Methods: We invited staff from an NHS trust in England to participate in an online survey conducted between December 2024 and March 2025, to investigate NHS healthcare professionals' attitudes towards environmental sustainability, current behaviours and perceived barriers to sustainable healthcare practices.

Results: We received 154 responses from healthcare staff across all pay bands and grades, representing an array of disciplines. 94.8% of staff were concerned about climate change and the environment; 95.5% and 93.5% believe that NHS staff have a responsibility to be aware of, and minimise the impact of their work respectively; and over 80% were willing to make changes to their personal practice or engage in education and training. The most predominant perceived barrier to sustainable healthcare practices was found to be cost (72.1% of responses), with both time and staff attitudes being reported as perceived barriers by 69.5% of respondents.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that among the staff surveyed, while there is a high level of willingness to change practice, increased funding is needed to support these changes, especially where sustainability initiatives have longer term cost-savings. There is a desire for more education to encourage and empower staff, and to make changes to NHS practice and policy. There is also a need for more direct leadership to facilitate change and integrate sustainability into the everyday work of healthcare professionals, rather than placing it as an additional burden on already overstretched staff.