you are here: home | specialist grants | this year's theme

2008 Specialist competition theme

How green is your healthcare organisation?

Competition closed

Increasingly healthcare has become more and more dependant on disposable instruments, packaging and procedures, in order to protect our patients from the risk of ever more resistant organisms. For a long time, we have not considered whether there is anything that can be done, within the tight confines of infection control, to try to be more environmentally friendly.

To date there have been few initiatives which have sought to improve waste and energy consumption in our hospitals, operating theatres, clinics and nursing homes.

The Bupa Foundation wishes to announce that it is offering up to £750,000 funding for studies of more environmentally friendly methods in carrying out everyday activities and procedures in all health settings.

The studies must demonstrate that healthcare by these methods complies with current best practice including that of infection control or improves on this.

The Foundation hopes that multi-disciplinary research teams with a broad range of skills will apply. All projects should incorporate health outcome measures that are of relevance to patient care and describe the likely impact on regional and national prosperity of identifying and implementing the new ways of meeting health needs.

The competition is open to those based in the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Thailand. Entries must be compliant with the local health and safety legislation if applicable. The Foundation will seek peer reviews from the home country of each short-listed entry.