Nursing staff are on the frontline of the climate crisis. They see its impact firsthand – from diseases linked to air pollution to the damaging effects of extreme heat.
The NHS has committed to being carbon neutral by 2045 but there is a long way to go. As the largest part of the health and care workforce, it is crucial that nursing becomes more sustainable.
This exhibition explores topics from the history of air pollution and industrial nursing to recycling and re-use in nursing past and present. It also uncovers how talented nursing teams are taking climate action today – from green social prescribing to developing sustainable nursing tools.
The exhibition features a new digital installation by artist, Lisa Ward Morris, exploring the growing e-waste crisis and the impact of the increasingly digital landscape of nursing. Also on display are a range of textile and fashion designs from ‘PPE Refashioned’, a project led by Professor Katherine Townsend at Nottingham School of Art and Design to create sustainable protective gowns for health care staff.
Other objects on display include items from the Thackray Museum of Medicine and the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in England, as well as highlights from the RCN Museum and Archive collections.
Join us for the exhibition launch.