Dental practice leads the way in sustainable healthcare through Greener Primary Care Wales Framework

“People in primary care are showing leadership in responding to perhaps what is the biggest public health challenge of our time…climate change” Keith Reed, Deputy Chief Medical Officer

Climate change is the biggest threat to human health of the 21st century. We all know how important it is to be “greener”, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start and how to put that into practice.

One dental practice in Wales is leading the way and hopes to inspire others after they recently won the first Greener Primary Care Wales Award at the NHS Wales Sustainability Awards. Gwaun Cae Gurwen Dental Practice in Ammanford is celebrating significant progress in sustainable healthcare after participating in the Greener Primary Care Wales Framework, demonstrating how small operational changes can deliver meaningful environmental impact without compromising patient care.

The practice has transformed its patient journey by embedding greener actions at every stage of the visit.

From the moment the patient arrives, sustainability is front and centre. Instead of paper forms, patients now check in and complete documentation on an iPad, reducing paper waste and streamlining administration. In the surgery, clinicians use digital scanning technology in place of traditional impressions, eliminating the need for impression materials, packaging, and postage.

The practice has also redesigned appointment scheduling to reduce unnecessary travel with patients receiving both a routine check‑up and a hygiene appointment on the same day, an approach the team says has been widely welcomed.

Dentist and Sustainability Lead, Yvette Powe said: “We’ve found that the Greener Primary Care Wales Framework gives us a clear structure to make changes that genuinely work for both the environment and our patients. It helped us identify

quick wins, like consolidating appointments, that immediately cut our carbon footprint.”

During treatment, the team now uses reusable suction tips, stainless steel cups, and other washable equipment, significantly reducing single‑use plastics. The practice has also adopted a new in‑surgery recycling system.

“The framework has empowered our whole team,” added Yvette Powe, “It’s shown us that sustainable dentistry isn’t about big, dramatic changes, it’s about thoughtful, everyday actions that add up.”

The Greener Primary Care Wales Framework continues to support primary care providers across Wales to reduce environmental impact, improve efficiency and deliver care that supports a healthier planet.

The Greener Primary Care Wales Framework

It was created specifically because primary care needed practical, actionable tools to reduce its environmental impact. It provides structured actions across waste, energy, travel, prescribing, procurement and culture change.

It helps by:

• Giving practices a clear roadmap for sustainability, answering the question: “What can we do in our practice?”
• Supporting all primary care contractors—GP, dental, community pharmacy, and optometry—to embed greener actions into daily operations.
• Offering Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards, motivating continuous improvement.
• Providing Wales‑specific guidance, filling the gap left by high‑level national decarbonisation plans that lacked practical primary‑care tools.

Impacts:

The framework is already showing strong engagement and momentum:

• Since its launch in 2022, Greener Primary Care Wales has supported over 400 GP surgeries, dental practices, community pharmacies and optometry services to reduce carbon emissions, cut waste and embed greener thinking into routine care.
• It has become an award‑winning national programme, raising awareness and building a community of “Greener Champions” across Wales.
• It is helping practices take action that collectively supports Wales’ net‑zero ambitions, making primary care a key contributor to national climate goals.

Find out more about the Greener Primary Care Framework here.