MEDIA RELEASE
8 May 2019
Health workers delivered a strong message to the Coalition Government at the National Forum on Sustainable Healthcare today. They are asking for urgent policy to ensure that District Health Boards (DHBs) and the wider health sector are held accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions and environmental footprint.
An open letter to the Ministers of Health and Climate Change was presented. Signed by over 900 New Zealand healthcare workers wanting change, the message to the Government is that the health sector is ready to lead NZ to a sustainable and healthy future.
The letter was presented to Hon Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Health with the portfolio for climate change and health, asking for:
1. The Ministry of Health to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for DHBs in line with commitments under the Paris Agreement.
2. The Ministry of Health to mandate all DHBs to measure, manage, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the ISO 14064 standard.
3. DHBs to report progress towards greenhouse gas emissions reduction to the Ministry of Health annually.
“Health systems in developed countries have very large environmental and climate footprints,” says Dr David Galler, an Intensive Care Specialist and member of the Sustainable Health Sector National Network (SHSNN). Estimates show health systems produce 3-10% of a country’s total greenhouse gases.
SHSNN members say a Sustainability Manager in every DHB is necessary, and the establishment of a national unit is needed for overall coordination. The National Health System (NHS) in England established a Sustainable Development Unit in 2008, funded by and accountable to the NHS.
Benefits of a sustainable health sector are significant and include cost savings, quality improvements, and boosting community wellbeing. For example, Counties Manukau DHB have reduced GHG emissions by over 20% since 2012 and saved more than $500,000 as a direct result.
“This Government is signalling that the health sector needs to change, but we need higher expectations and accountability. We still have hospitals that are burning coal as an energy source,” says Dr Galler.
“The Government needs to provide the budget and support for DHBs to change how they operate for the long-term good of the sector and people’s health”
The National Forum looked at green hospital and healthcare buildings, sustainable supply chains, and the implications of the upcoming Zero Carbon Bill for the health sector. It also discussed how health sector environmental sustainability can add health and social value to local communities.
Co-hosted by OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council and the SHSNN, the Forum was opened by the Director-General of Health, followed by international and NZ experts on sustainability and healthcare.
Dr Rhys Jones, co-convenor of OraTaiao, says the Forum has laid down the challenge by showing that NZ’s health sector can lead environmental sustainability and create the conditions for all New Zealanders to be healthy.
-ENDS-
Media Spokespersons
Dr David Galler, Intensive Care Specialist and member of the Sustainable Health Sector National Network
Dr Rhys Jones, Public Health Physician and co-convenor of OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council
Background
OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health Council is a health professional organisation urgently focusing on the health threats of climate change and the health opportunities of climate action.
The Sustainable Health Sector National Network is a group of health professionals and sustainability managers collaborating to make the health sector in Aotearoa/New Zealand environmentally sustainable.
See the letter here and a 'prescription' for sustainable healthcare here.
Articles on the environmental and carbon footprints of health systems · https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(17)30180-8/fulltext · http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0157014
Minister of Health David Clarke’s letter of expectations to DHBs requiring action on climate change · https://nsfl.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/generic_loe_2019-20.pdf
The National Health System England Sustainable Development Unit
The Sustainable Development Unity (SDU) of the English National Health System (NHS) is funded by, and accountable to, NHS England and Public Health England. https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/