Modern advancements in technology have led to the increased life expectancy of humans and have undoubtedly increased the quality of life, but at what cost?
The healthcare sector accounts for 4.6% of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) which include carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone, among others. Additionally, 25% of the waste generated by hospitals is plastic. Single-use plastic is detrimental to the environment, but it’s also inexpensive, durable and hygienic which is what makes it so attractive to patient care. The current challenge hospitals face when implementing sustainable practices is hunting for alternatives that offer the same benefits for infection control. Although single-use disposables are perceived to cost less upfront, than supplies which need to be maintained carefully to prevent infection, in the longer term, there is a high cost to constantly replacing devices. Going forward, some hospitals are experimenting with replacing blue wrap (a commonly used polypropylene sheeting) with reusable sterilization containers that practitioners can clean, just like the instruments they contain. This is a budding area for environmentalists to focus on since there can be health without healthcare and no healthcare without sustainable practices!
The YSEALI Summit gave career fellows the opportunity to not only learn but probe the boundaries of sustainable healthcare practices. Career fellows were able to explore the theme of sustainable healthcare with the host organization Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) which was founded in 1996 and has grown to amass a strong global network of hundreds of member parties. Their representatives from various fronts include hospitals and healthcare systems; medical professionals; community groups; environmental and environmental health organizations; and labor unions. The career fellows supported projects to counter poor waste management and the use of toxic chemicals.
The career fellows that worked with HCWH were Bunthicha Larlarb, Wei Xan Lim and Anh Quoc Duy Ngo. They worked under the guidance of their mentor Pats Olivia, communications campaigner of HCWH Asia. The career fellows worked together to test out different modern solutions to counter waste and poor health practices. Throughout their fellowship, career fellows made impactful contributions to projects like forging a membership between HCWH and the Thai Ministry of Health, researching how climate change affects the mental health of the youth and conducting a plastic waste audit in the laboratory to investigate and assess inefficiencies in current health practices (e.g. using too much single-use plastic when it can be avoided by investing in reusable materials).
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