A sustainable healthcare resolves around delivering high quality care and improved public health and wellbeing without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage.
Sustainability is a "trade-off" between social, environmental and economic aspects of working and living.
Three elements to consider:
- 'Greening' the hospital
- Sustainable Healthcare System
- Sustainable Health and Well Being
The 'Route Map for Sustainable Health' framework outlines a number of transformational shifts required for a more sustainable health and care system. They provide an indication of what we mean by Sustainable Health Care. Visit http://www.sduhealth.org.uk/policy-strategy/what-is-sustainable-health.aspx
The following images help to appreciate how far we've strayed from our natural origins in so many areas of human endeavour.
Cork University Hospital membership was recently approved by Healthcare Without Harm Europe the Board of Directors and the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network (GGHH). Members commit themselves to implement certain goals of the GGHH agenda by developing more sustainable practices and by monitoring progress over time.
CUH through its Sustainable Healthcare & Living Programme will enable us to fulfill HCWH/ GGHH membership requirements. It will provide us with networking opportunities, involvement in HCWH actions and projects and the promotion of member initiatives at international level.
HCWH Europe (https://noharm-europe.org) is a non-profit European coalition of hospitals, healthcare systems, medical associations, healthcare professionals, local authorities, research and academic institutions and environmental and health organizations.
Click here for the HCWH information brochure
The Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network (http://greenhospitals.net) is a worldwide movement to reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare and to promote sustainability and public health. The agenda support hospitals and health systems around the world to achieve greater sustainability in terms of 10interconnected Goals: Leadership, Chemicals, Waste, Energy, Water, Transportation, Food, Pharmaceuticals, Buildings and Purchasing.