Toxic air health threat at 2,000 GP surgeries
MORE than 2,000 GP surgeries and 200 hospitals are in areas with toxic air, a report has found.
It means patients with heart and lung conditions are putting themselves at risk by visiting 2,200 GP surgeries and 248 hospitals, the analysis warns.
Measurements of tiny particle pollution, called particulate matter or PM2.5, on these sites exceed World Health Organisation (WHO) levels.
The tiny, invisible particles, can pass directly into the body via the lungs, causing health problems. And patients could exacerbate conditions such as asthma, simply by visiting a health professional.
The British Lung Foundation, which was behind the study by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, said it was ‘unacceptable’ that patients are being exposed to the most dangerous type of air pollution. Alison Cook, director of policy at the charity, said: ‘It can’t be right that hospital staff and GPs must care for people in environments that could worsen their symptoms and could be putting them at risk of a whole range of health problems.’
Air pollution is estimated to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year, and has been linked to diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to type 2 diabetes. Researchers analysed the postcodes of almost 10,000 NHS health centres against pollution readings. In England, one in three GP practices and one in four hospitals are in areas that exceed the safe levels, it found.
Pollution was most prominent in large cities such as London and Birmingham but was also present in towns including Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and Penzance, Cornwall. Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and Birmingham’s Children Hospital both sit in highly polluted areas, the report said.
In Wales, 54 doctors’ surgeries and three hospitals were in polluted areas. Scotland had three healthcare sites above the recommended limit – in Aberdeen, Falkirk and Berwickshire.
Dr Maria Neira, from the WHO, said: ‘Hospitals and GP surgeries are the lungs and hearts of our health systems. No- one should have to be exposed to dirty air when visiting them.’
The British Lung Foundation says air pollution is a threat to 12million people in the UK and improving air quality would save hundreds of millions of pounds and avoid thousands of cases of asthma, lung cancer and heart disease.
The UK currently meets legal limits for PM2.5 but these are more than twice as high as the WHO ceiling.
A Defra spokesman said the Government was committed to its Clean Air Strategy and added: ‘The forthcoming Environment Bill will include provisions to improve air quality.’