Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan May 2018
Greener Travel - Why it s important for Dorothy House It is easy to forget in our busy lives that our day-to-day travel decisions have a real impact on the environment. By choosing greener travel options we can help make our community a cleaner place to live and hopefully make our lives a little happier, healthier and wealthier. Over 420 staff work for Dorothy House on a daily basis and volunteers, day patients, families and carers all visit the hospice at Winsley. We have over 150 vehicles driving to the Hospice every week day. Demand for hospice care services in our community are rising every year and we provide care to a region covering 700 square miles. As a result, our impact on the environment is likely to increase unless we proactively reduce it. Our carbon footprint stretches well beyond our place of work. Not only do we commute to and from work every day, we also travel on Dorothy House business to visit patients, attend meetings or visit our shops, among other activities. With the hospice car park extension build starting in late summer, this is a good opportunity for us to work together as an organisation to reduce our carbon emissions by choosing greener travel options. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 2
Greener Travel Facilities Dorothy House is encouraging and facilitating more sustainable travel choices for all staff and volunteers. Some of the improvements we are making to support greener travel choices include: facilitating staff use of car share websites such as gocarshare.com building a new bike shelter and electric charging sites for electric bikes (and electric cars) access to showers for staff, volunteers and visitors at Winsley. access a tax-free Cycle To Work scheme - cyclescheme.co.uk to help with the costs of buying a bike. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 3
1. Walking Walking is a great way to get from A to B and costs nothing, it s good for your health and you don t need any special gear to get started. For those who live locally, a short journey by foot can be surprisingly quick and you ll feel the physical benefits whilst doing your bit to help the environment. Walking is also a great way to help you towards your recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity five times a week. Even if you re in a hurry, walking can often be quicker than navigating busy roads in a car and then finding a parking place. Walking is one of the best ways to clear your head and reduce stress whether you are planning your thoughts for the day ahead or walking away the stresses of the day. Walking ties in with Dorothy House s wellbeing programme, encouraging staff and volunteers to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle as well as mindfulness and taking time to reflect. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 4
2. Cycling Pedal your way to a better quality of life and a better level of fitness. If it s not far, consider leaving the car at home. Cycling shorter journeys instead can keep you healthy, get you where you need to go faster and help to keep the environment cleaner and greener. There are dedicated cycling routes around Wiltshire and you can find them at sustrans.org.uk. Sustrans is a charity that s making it easier for people to walk and cycle and they provide a wealth of information online. Cycling is another healthy benefit that links with wellbeing. You can turn your regular commute into a workout by trying to improve your speed and stamina and make time in your life for other things knowing you ve had plenty of exercise. Save money even a new bike needn t cost much and it will help you to spend less on fuel and fares. We offer the tax-free Cycle to work scheme cyclescheme.co.uk to help with the costs of buying a bike. Dorothy House are providing the following staff facilities in early Autumn 2018: Secure and dry storage for bicycles and other equipment including electricity to recharge electric bikes. Shower facilities at Winsley are located in the DPU toilet andshower room on the ground floor by the Dining Room. Staff, volunteers and visitors will have access to the shower between 7am-9.30am but will need to book in advance. If a changing room is needed at other times the nurses changing room is available on the first floor next to Information Management (IM). Please see addendum 1 for guidelines on how to use the DH cycling and shower facilities. For more information on cycling to work and access to showers, please find the cycle to work paper on Dot2Dot to download. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 5
3. Public Transport Taking the bus or train can often be quicker, more convenient and cost you less than the total cost of running a car. Fewer cars on the road means less pollution and congestion. Which means a cleaner, healthier environment. Taking the bus or train is a great start to greener living. Did you know there are a train station near Winsley at Freshford and Avoncliff? It is on the main Bristol to Salisbury line and it takes 15-20 minutes to walk to the Hospice from the station. Train information from Freshford and Avoncliff: travelfor.co.uk/bath_and_north_east_somerset/limpley_stoke There are regular buses to and from Winsley, The D1 operated by First. firstgroup.com/uploads/maps/d1%20discover%20tt%20leaflet%20web.pdf The nearest bus stop to Dorothy House is called The Wheatsheaf which is located on the Bradford Road at the top of Murhill Lane. If you use a smartphone, many local transport providers have dedicated apps or mobile-friendly websites that will help you to plan your journey and see when the next bus or train is on its way. Benefits of public transport: moovitapp.com United Kingdom South West Winsley Greener - help work towards a cleaner, greener environment by choosing a travel option that causes less pollution. Take photo of bus stop just outside the Hospice Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 6
4. Reducing Work-Related Travel By planning our team meetings carefully, we can reduce unnecessary travel and in turn reduce parking congestion in our other locations. Ask your LT member if your meetings always need to be held in Winsley or can some be held at other local venues. Working from home Depending on your role and subject to hospice requirements you may not always need to be at the office to get your job done. Telephone, email, high-speed broadband, video conferencing and instant messaging can keep us in touch with colleagues. If it s a possibility, working from home is often more productive and it can give you a better work-life balance. Speak with your LT member, who will advise whether it is appropriate for your role to work from home at times, and if there is a possibility HR will advise what you need to consider to adjust to remote working. (Possibly put DH person image image on screen to imply skype call) Flexible working options Depending on your role and team requirements perhaps flexible working is an option instead of working from home. Changing your hours, where practical and approved, could let you bypass rush hour congestion. If appropriate, you ll be able to work hours that suit you better. Find out more by speaking with your LT member or HR. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 7
5. Car Sharing Car sharing means fewer drivers, less congestion and quicker journeys, it also allows you to split your fuel costs between several people. Dorothy House will provide guidelines on best practice for using car sharing websites such as gocarshare.com to help staff make safe arrangements with people they know or colleagues. Please promote the idea of car sharing with friends or neighbours travelling the same way. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 8
Thank you Thank you for your willingness to support our green travel initiative, we appreciate your help. We will be posting updates on Dot2Dot with progress throughout 2018/19 so please watch this space. Related documentation: Cycle to Work Scheme, Dorothy House Wellbeing information, Car Sharing guidelines, Local Bus Services and Train Times. Addendum 1 Guidelines on how to use the cycling, changing and showering facilities at Dorothy House: If you cycle to work, the covered cycle shelter is located to the right of the middle car park. If you use an electric bike, charging points are located in the cycle shelter in the middle car park. If you require use of our shower facilities: 8 Staff use the outlook booking system for the shower by DPU (available 7am-9.30am) and ask reception for the key otherwise use the nurse changing room facilities on the first floor by Information Management (IM). 8 Visitors please advise your host you are cycling in and wish to use the facilities on arrival these are open between 7am and 9.30am and your host will confirm availability/time. Please note, once you have used the facilities please take away your change of clothes wet towels and keep them in a waterproof bag. Please do not air them in offices or meeting rooms. Ensure you bicycle is secured and safely in place and not a hazard to other shelter users. Whilst Dorothy House are committed to the safety and security of all who use our premises, please note that Dorothy House will not accept any liability for any accidents, damage or loss incurred and users of our facilities do so at their own risk. Dorothy House Hospice Care Green Travel Plan 9