Biodiversity and wellbeing on our doorstep - Greenspace mapping of the NHS Scotland Estate
Posted on 22 October 2024 by Andrew Gasiorowski
- Place
Coinciding with the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (21st October – 1st November), this week sees the publication of the “Interim Assessment of NHS Scotland Greenspace” report. This outlines the significant greenspace within the NHS Scotland estate, a natural resource of great value for biodiversity and population health.
Andrew Gasiorowski, Principal Information Development Manager from PHS’s Geospatial team and Alba Rozalen Gonzalez, Senior Health Improvement Officer from our Climate and Sustainable Environments team, talk about the report and how the data can be used to create benefit for the environment and people’s health.
Background
With a total of 22 health boards (14 territorial and 8 special boards), NHS Scotland occupies vast swathes of land, with, for example, hospitals, offices and their respective outdoor spaces. The outdoor land includes the grounds within NHS Scotland facilities as well as wider parklands, woodlands, and grasslands, with untapped potential for biodiversity and health benefits for staff, patients and local communities alike.
In recognition of this, the NHSScotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy: 2022-2026 requires NHS boards to assess the extent and quality of the green spaces they have. To support NHS boards in this work, the Strategy committed to the development of mapping the type, extent, quality and accessibility of the NHS estate.
PHS has undertaken the mapping work and we’re now sharing the findings in our Interim Assessment of NHSScotland Greenspace.
Capturing accurate and timely spatial data is key to understanding the composition of our estate and its greenspace. Using data provided by Ordnance Survey under the PSGA (Public Sector Geospatial Agreement), bespoke capture tools by software provider, ESRI, and scaling methodology and tooling previously showcased by NHS Fife, we have been able to deliver a comprehensive overview of the NHS Scotland estate. Each site now has a designated UPRN (unique property reference number) which is key to determining its location. We have also worked closely with the NHS boards to quality assure the locations and associated boundaries, and this is an ongoing process.
Relevance of this report
This is the first such publication released in Scotland using geospatial software showing detailed outdoor boundary data across the NHS Scotland estate. It’s a fundamental step towards maximising the use of our public land as a powerful resource in enhancing biodiversity and the wellbeing of our communities.
Greenspaces are crucial in promoting public health, offering physical and mental benefits and ensuring equity by providing accessible areas for all residents. They are also ecosystems rich with life, serving as habitats for many species (biodiversity). Healthy ecosystems with high biodiversity help to ensure long term sustainable environments.
Safeguarding biodiversity is a global focus, and happens to be the theme of this year’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali (Colombia). The conference seeks international commitment to improve efforts in our relationship with natural environments, promote more sustainable land management and reduce biodiversity loss in the context of Sustainable Development Goals and the fight against climate change. A key outcome of this conference is the launch of COP16, the convention on biodiversity.
What’s next
PHS is keen to expand on the versatility offered by using Geospatial Information Systems (GIS). For example, GIS can be used to support decision-making around preventive actions for future climate change derived situations (e.g. floods, deforestation) or help build a comprehensive picture of the environmental and health benefits of the NHS estate that could be applied in the development of future health-related projects.
We hope that the information contained within this publication will inspire a greater use of greenspace to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes for the population and local habitats.
More information
Find out more about our work around Geospatial Information Systems (GIS)
We also have a dedicated page to our work around Open Space and the Environment here