NHSScotland Assure has joined forces with more than 20 organisations across Scotland as part of a new national forum which aims to address the risks we all face from climate change and extreme weather events.
What the forum is here to do – and why
Climate Ready Infrastructure Scotland Forum members have signed a historic memorandum of understanding, agreeing to work together to build resilience against climate-related risks to Scotland’s critical infrastructure.
Scotland’s climate is changing, with rising temperatures, increased rainfall, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events.
These changes and extreme weather events can affect Scotland’s infrastructure, disrupting services across sectors and impacting communities – so collective action is vital.
Who’s involved?
The forum brings together infrastructure owners, operators and users including Network Rail, Scottish Water and SP Energy Networks, alongside other organisations including NHSScotland Assure, the Met Office, regional transport partnerships and academia.
Forum members will collaborate on co-developing, co-funding, and co-delivering tactical climate adaptation and resilience initiatives that support infrastructure operators and owners to prepare for Scotland’s changing climate.
What does this mean for health boards?
Julie Critchley, Director of NHSScotland Assure said: “NHSScotland Assure delivers a coordinated approach to the improvement of risk management and quality in the healthcare environment across NHSScotland. Supporting health boards to adapt to climate-related risks forms an important part of this – so collaborating with these important partners at a national level will inform the support we provide to boards across Scotland and help us all work collectively to achieve our shared adaptation goals.”
Evelin Bocanegra, Sustainability Manager (Adaptation and Resilience), NHSScotland Assure said: “NHSScotland Assure welcomes this partnership initiative, recognising the importance of collaboration. It presents a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and learn from one another as we work together to adapt critical infrastructure to the growing impacts of climate change. We’ll be sharing insights and opportunities we gather from this forum with health boards to inform local decision-making and support capacity building.”
Find out more
To learn more about the forum, visit the forum page on the Adaptation Scotland website. You can also read the Network Rail press release on their website.
If you would like to know more about this Forum, please contact Evelin Bocanegra Rios at evelin.bocanegrarios@nhs.scot