As part of their pledge to become more sustainable, staff at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice recently took part in a 'gloves off' campaign to reduce non-essential glove use in clinical settings, improve hand hygiene, and reduce waste.

This initiative is one of several green measures currently in use at the hospice, which provides expert palliative care for people across Gloucestershire.

In addition to caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses, and supporting their families, staff have been working hard behind the scenes to embrace sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint.

From a kitchen garden that grows fruit and vegetables to feed staff and patients to reduce food miles, to the introduction of Meat Free Monday and using donated water reduction taps, staff are determined to do all they can to reduce emissions and conserve energy.

The beautiful gardens are another area where nature is high on the agenda, with the careful planting of 210 woodland trust native deciduous trees to support wildlife. Every year, chippings from the hospice's popular 'treecycling' fundraising scheme are used for the path of the newly designed Bluebell Walk.

Head of operations Rob Saunders said: "We take sustainability very seriously at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice; it's something we feel passionately about! From planting native trees in the grounds, to using LED lights and installing EV charging points, we're doing our bit to minimise our impact on the environment and encourage wildlife - small changes can make a big difference."

Rob leads the hospice's sustainability group, set up to keep staff and volunteers updated with the latest initiatives, with ideas also being shared on a sustainability board in the staff room.

He added: "It all started about a year and a half ago after a medical student carried out a footprint study and produced a figure showing how many tonnes of Co2 we emitted. Our biggest usage was travel by some way, then gas, then electricity.

"Since then, we've gone on to install four EV chargers and plan to order three cars for use by our Hospice at Home team.

"We're also trying to get funding for solar panels, but it's difficult given the fact that the main building is Grade II listed. In the future, I'd like to introduce a more efficient heating system for both buildings - we could do ground source or air source heat pumps in the Community Hub."

Rob continued: "Meat free Monday has gone down really well. That came from an idea from the sustainability group - of course it's optional for our patients. And the evolution of the kitchen garden has been a real success. We're still using the produce now."

Volunteer gardener Barbara Broomfield, who is the mastermind behind the hospice's kitchen garden, said: "Just after lockdown, we found a little spot that had been used as a kitchen garden before and thought it might be quite nice to reinstate it. But it didn't really work out. I hadn't realised there were deer and rabbits about! And they like the veg! Plus, it wasn't in the right spot because of the trees, so it didn't get much sunshine.

"So, we identified a new area and gathered some people together - there are eight of us doing the kitchen garden now.

"At the moment, I've got beetroot, leeks, cabbage, cauliflower, aubergines, peppers and chillis as seedlings in my greenhouse. The veg tastes amazing. It's nice to see people eating the food we've grown.

"This year, Joan, the head chef, has said she wants some more soft fruits for the patients to enjoy. We're going to use one bed for fruit and build a cage around it to keep the birds off, so we should get some more blueberries, blackcurrants and raspberries."

Barbara recently entered a competition run by the Westland New Horizon Fund and was delighted to be awarded £1,000 of gardening goodies for the hospice.

She added: "I'd like to thank the Westland New Horizon Fund for the brilliant prize, which will go some way towards helping the kitchen garden team continue to grow our own produce for staff and patients to enjoy."

The fund, which supports community gardening projects throughout the UK and Ireland, aims to encourage more people to get closer to nature.

Helen Amos, head of category at Westland, said: "It's so inspirational to read about all the steps taken by staff at the hospice to embrace the environment and nature. We hope the prize will support their quest to be sustainable and that the wonderful garden continues to flourish."

Sue Ryder is committed to sustainability across the organisation, providing care for people and the planet too.