Government plan hopes to reduce emissions in health care

Increasing the focus on prevention and primary care will reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care and reduce hospitals’ greenhouse gas emissions, says a leading climate and health researcher.

Clinicians are being reassured that the hospital systems which support their work will have the impacts of climate change taken into account once a new national health and climate strategy is developed.

The federal Department of Health and Aged Care is currently running a consultation on Australia’s first national health and climate strategy, inviting submissions until 24 July 2023.

“The Australian health system (encompassing both health and aged care) needs to be resilient to both prepare for, and be ready to respond to, stresses and shocks from climate change,” the Department’s consultation paper reads.

One of the key objectives of the strategy will be to lessen the impact of climate change on the social and cultural determinants of health and wellbeing.

The need for a national plan

The strategy has been warmly welcomed by Professor of Planetary Health, Tony Capon, a public health physician at Monash University.

“A national plan will provide a framework for national action,” said Professor Capon, who commented on the development of the plan for InSight+.

“This means that busy clinicians can be reassured that the health system has a health and climate plan in place.”

“It means that systems to support the work of busy clinicians will have taken climate change into account.”

The Sustainable Healthcare Module

A recent example of similar work is the development of a Sustainable Healthcare Module by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC).

“Australia has one of the best health care systems in the world. However, health care in Australia produces 7% of total national greenhouse gas emissions,” the Commission’s consultation paper reads, with the module to provide health services with strategies to manage and improve their sustainability. 

The Commission has said the delivery of health care contributes to climate change through:

• low-value or unnecessary tests, procedures, or interventions;
• poor waste management;
• uncontrolled procurement of products;
• unnecessary travel;
• poorly implemented or delivered public health and preventative health;
• poor quality use and management of medicines or devices; and  
• ineffective design and management of facilities.

Reducing waste

The reduction of waste has been highlighted as one of the main ways health services can reduce their emissions.

“The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom achieved an 11% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, while the level of health care activity rose by 18%, between 2007 and 2015,” Professor Capon said.

“By 2017, the financial savings associated with environmental sustainability (mainly energy, waste and water) in the NHS had risen to ₤90 million each year.”

Strengthening the focus on prevention and primary care will reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions from hospital care and improving health outcomes at the same time, Professor Capon said.

“Because 80% of the carbon emissions from health care in Australia are attributable to clinical care, reducing the amount of low value and harmful health care is one really effective way to reduce carbon emissions.”

Progress at Western Health

Western Health, the public health service that delivers care in the western suburbs of Melbourne, was an early mover on sustainable health care and is one of the leaders in this space in Australia, Professor Capon said.

Western Health undertook research in 2015 which showed that one sustainability issue was the use of single-use metal instruments.

This prompted it to roll-out a Single Use Metal Instruments Recycling Program across all sites in 2016.

“Approximately 500 kg of steel was recycled that year, representing approximately 80% of all [single-use metal instruments] purchased,” Western Health said.

“The program’s accessible focus resulted in a positive engagement of staff in the sustainability program, leading to improved staff perceptions around their ability to influence waste and do the right thing at work.”

Submissions to the Department’s health and climate strategy are open until 24 July 2023.

Submissions to the ACSQHC’s Sustainable Healthcare Module have closed, with the document being reviewed by its standing committees and board.

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