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'Healthcare isn’t sustainable', says KPMG
19/06/2012
By Daniel Hunter
As politicians and business leaders head towards the Rio+20 Summit, Andrew Hine, partner and UK Head of Healthcare at KPMG, argues that the NHS has a huge role to play developing the green economy and tackling climate change — but says that it isn’t yet doing enough.
He also lays out a 3-point plan identifying how NHS Trusts across the country can tackle the three Cs - cost, carbon and care.
“It’s easy to say that climate change is having an adverse effect on the health of populations across the globe, but it’s just as accurate to argue that current approaches to healthcare are making unsustainable demands on our energy resources," Andrew said.
“That’s why, as one of the largest employers across the globe, the NHS has a responsibility to take a leading role ensuring responsible healthcare is synonymous with sustainable healthcare. Of course, for hospitals up and down the country clinical care, infection control and budget management are the key priorities, but as a huge consumer of energy the NHS cannot ignore sustainability or leave Government to solve the crisis, alone.
“With environmental concerns high on everyone’s agenda because of Rio+20 we have a huge opportunity to move sustainability up the healthcare agenda. For one thing, the NHS should take a closer look at energy consumption levels. Much is focused around waste and a move towards greener waste management would transform performance and reduce costs and emissions.
“The current distribution chain between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare also needs to be looked at. Supply chains to hospitals, GPs and pharmacies place a strain on our infrastructure and environment. Wouldn’t it be better for healthcare providers to work together streamlining the process to reducing the number of deliveries, amount of packaging and cost?
“And... continued on page two >
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