Mar 23, 2023
CODA Change and Sustainable Healthcare.
Climate change is a pernicious environmental and health threat to
humanity. Yet, healthcare itself pollutes, contributing to
approximately 5% of total global anthropogenic emissions. What can
be done to avoid this harm? Forbes McGain has spent 15 years
undertaking research with colleagues to discover healthcare’s
environmental footprint, with a particular emphasis upon practical
efforts to reduce this environmental and economic burden. In this
discussion we will hear of a series of micro, meso, and macro
actions that each can contribute to reducing our carbon and other
environmental footprints at work.
Mico: all clinicians have agency to avoid, reduce, reuse, and if
none of these are possible, recycle. Further, efforts to provide
excellent primary care such as preventing obesity, diabetes, and
drug harms, and delivering vaccinations are integral to
ameliorating healthcare’s environmental footprint. From titrating
oxygen on the hospital wards to deliver enough, but no more for
patients, to undertaking antibiotic stewardship (and switching from
i.v. to oral preparations) there are actually many daily activities
in healthcare that could reduce our environmental footprint whilst
delivering ongoing safe patient care.
Meso: Collaboration is the key here! There are many low carbon
healthcare activities that cannot be ameliorated without teamwork,
for example at the GP clinic, hospital ward, or operating theatre
level. A good example within hospitals are efforts to convert
single use to reusable equipment. Although evidence is presented of
the economic and environmental benefits of reusable anaesthesia
equipment such information (and publications) has not lead to
widespread adoption of such approaches. The importance of champions
in each hospital and collaborating with clinical and non-clinical
colleagues in hospitals is emphasized. Forming hospital
environmental sustainability committees, and alliances with
hospital executives and the board is vital.
Macro: Advocacy at the medical and nursing societal and colleges
level to incorporate environmentally sustainable healthcare into
routine clinical education, examinations, and research agendas is
the work of concerted groups of clinicians. Influencing the various
state, territory and national governments to develop/extend
sustainable healthcare units will likewise form part of macro
efforts. Joining the Doctors for the Environment, Australia (DEA),
activating the ANMF and AMA to get involved in environmentally
sustainable healthcare will augment such efforts.
Full Sails on Our Journey!