Our 5-Year Sustainability Strategy

At Surrey Physio, we created a 5-year sustainability strategy and green plan that we believe is the first in the physiotherapy profession.

Stage 1: Continued Awareness & Assessment

Green Pan: Progress with the Surrey Physio Green Plan.

Assessment: Evaluate the clinic's current environmental impact, especially in areas of waste, energy, and water usage. We’ve already made good steps to becoming green and we must evaluate where we are now.

Awareness: We will educate staff about sustainability and its importance. Dedicate a week or month to environmental health to boost awareness among patients too by incorporating our strategy into emails to patients.

Continue all current strategies including only using paper cups, recycling, re-using paper, reducing couch roll on beds, using soap and water to clean treatment tables, encouraging the Cycle to Work Scheme.

Stage 2: Implementation & Training

Recycling: Ensure every clinic room has dual recycling bins and educate staff and patients on proper sorting.

Energy Conservation: The majority of our clinics have already switched to LED lighting and energy-efficient equipment, and programmable thermostats. However, we need to switch one more clinic.

Water Conservation: When new water appliances are required, install water-saving appliances.

Training: Offer workshops for all staff to learn about sustainable physiotherapy practices and how they can integrate them into their treatments.

Cycle to Work Scheme: continue to encourage staff to cycle to work, but also to use public transport where practical.

Stage 3: Expansion & Patient Engagement

Patient Engagement: Educate patients on sustainable health and well-being practices and offer workshops or classes.

Digital Transition: We have already become totally digital without paper, but continue to do this, print less, and promote our digital offering.

Stage 4: Community Involvement & Collaboration

Community Workshops: Offer community workshops focusing on sustainable well-being and health.

Local Partnerships: Collaborate with local sustainable businesses or environmental NGOs to host events or initiate community projects.

Sustainable Suppliers: Continue to ensure that suppliers (e.g., equipment, products) align with sustainability values, and request that more suppliers to reduce packaging and waste.

Therapy Innovations: We must support communities more with therapies or practices that emphasise holistic and sustainable health.

Stage 5: Future Direction and Reflective Learning

Review & Refine: Assess all initiatives from the past 10 years analysing successes and areas for improvement.

Staff Feedback: Engage with staff to get their insights and suggestions on the sustainability journey.

Patient Feedback: Get feedback from patients on the clinic's initiatives and what they'd like to see in the future.

Strategy Development: Based on reviews and feedback, develop the next 5-year sustainability strategy.

In Conclusion

We aim to promote physical health, and improve mental health and wellbeing through engaging with the community on all levels. We aim to reduce health inequalities, and we offer care to people from all walks of life, focussing on particularly challenging demographic areas and improving accessibility to marginalised and underserved communities. We provide support groups, education groups, and we provide the essential link between 250 GP surgeries and the 3rd sector.

We’ll continue innovating and advancing.