NHS could save £180m a year by reducing carbon emissions, National Audit Office claims

If a correct estimate, this would be the equivalent of just over 1,400 GPs salaries

The report on sustainability and the NHS suggests the most cost effective reduction of carbon emissions and costs would be packaging and drug waste reduction, in addition to increased use of teleconferencing to replace business miles. (Getty Images)

The National Audit Office has estimated in a report that the NHS could save £180 million a year by reducing carbon emissions.

If a correct estimate, this would be the equivalent of just over 1,400 GPs salaries.

The £180m figure was calculated as part of a modelling exercise in a report on sustainability and the NHS. The NHS budget for 2015/16 was approximately £115.4 billion.

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The report on sustainability and the NHS suggests the most cost effective reduction of carbon emissions and costs would be packaging and drug waste reduction, in addition to increased use of teleconferencing to replace business miles.

The NHS currently uses 435 million business miles and generates 374,000 tonnes of waste a year.

In addition to this, the NHS uses 34.4 billion litres of water annually, approximately the volume of Loch Ness four and a half times over.

The NHS also currently consumes 11,732 GWh of power every year.

The largest carbon and cost savings would be achieved by combined heat and power installations in acute trusts.

An enquiry by the Environmental Audit Committee will be informed by the report, although the results of the exercises have not yet been translated into an implementation plan.