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Population growth and a sustainable NHS The NHS aims to deliver high quality healthcare for all. In order to do this sustainably, it is important for the NHS to be clear about its responsibility to ensure that maintaining and improving the health of today’s population is not done in a way that prejudices our ability to deliver care and promote health tomorrow. Central to this approach involves living within environmental, social and financial limits. One important part of this approach is to address our responsibility not to increase the population of the society in which we live beyond the limits of what we can support with the resources available. We strive to ensure that every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy. We should aim for an average family size such that the total population size does not exceed the available resources, both now and in the future. We should enable and encourage this for the health of citizens in this country and to set an example for others. The NHS cannot and should not prescribe family size. However, it should make clear through its policies and actions that population size is a crucial determinant of our ability to maintain health for all, now, and in the future. “We must not put pressure on people, but by providing information on the population and the environment, and appropriate contraception for everyone (and by their own example), doctors (and other health care professionals) should help to bring family size into the arena of environmental ethics.”1 Reference List 1. Guillebaud J., Hayes P. Population growth and climate change. BMJ 2008;337. May 24th, 2011 Notes: This statement represents the latest evidence and its implications for the NHS in England. It is made by the NHS SDU with the help of partner and stakeholder organisations. If you believe this statement can be made more helpful, then we would welcome your contribution. The NHS Sustainable Development Unit (England) helps the NHS fulfil its potential as a leading sustainable and low carbon healthcare service. We do this by developing organisations, people, tools, policy and research which will enable the NHS to promote sustainable development and mitigate climate change. 1 www.sdu.nhs.uk