PEACCH: Project to Embed Adaptation to Climate Change in Healthcare 

Led by Dr. Louise Elstow, an interdisciplinary researcher from Cambridge University’s Centre for Sustainable Development, PEACCH is a collaboration with partners at Anglia Ruskin University and NHS practitioners. We want to increase awareness not only of the need to adapt, but also to provide practical steps that healthcare managers and practitioners can take, to adapt their environments and practices to the main physical climate risks facing UK health systems. 

Aligned with the recently adopted NHS Climate Adaptation Framework (https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/a-climate-adaptation-framework-for-nhs-organisations-in-england/) and building on research outputs from Life Resystal research project (https://life-resystal.eu/), PEACCH will deliver a series of 4 webinars and a document toolkit, designed to help healthcare staff take adaptation-positive action, that complements the Net-Zero agenda and addresses the physical challenges of climate change in the UK health sector.

Webinar Series

There are 4 webinars scheduled to take place in June 2025, with a fantastic range of guest speakers from academia and also within NHS organisations who are already on their way to adapting, and who want to share their experiences.  Each event has a web page with programme information and speaker bios.  

• Webinar 1: Introduction to climate adaptation, what this means in the context of UK hospitals and the UK policy landscape. Event page and registration
• Webinar 2: A closer look at heat risks in healthcare facilities, with intervention options and a UK case study. Event page and registration 
• Webinar 3: A closer look at flooding and drought risk in UK healthcare facilities, with intervention options and a UK case study. Event page and registration
• Webinar 4: Embedding action to adapt to climate change in your organisation - what tools are there to help you take action. Event page and registration

The online events are free to attend and are designed for anyone interested in learning more about climate adaptation within a healthcare setting and with UK examples. Roles which may find the content particularly useful include staff with an interest or responsibilities for delivering EPRR, estates and facilities management, procurement, sustainability and Net-Zero.

Recordings of these events will be made available here when they have been held.

Toolkit

A key output of the project is the development of a toolkit for NHS practitioners to support their adaptation efforts. This toolkit will be made available here when it has been produced. 

PEACCH Project Partners

PEACCH is a collaborative interdisciplinary effort, and involves researchers from social sciences and engineering, alongside convenors and NHS practitioners working together to drive forward and enable more climate adaptation within the healthcare sector. Key project partners are:

Louise Elstow, Research Associate in Infrastructure Climate Adaptation at the Centre for Sustainable Development, Cambridge University.

Federica Pascale, Associate Professor of Sustainable Built Environment at Anglia Ruskin University.

Alexis Percival, Environmental and Sustainability Manager, Yorkshire Ambulance Trust

Jim Cook, Associate Director Emergency Preparedness Resilience & Response (EPRR), Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS)

Peter Lefort, 'Adaptation' and 'Scope 3' Communities of Practice Convenor, Green Futures Network, Exeter University