VICDOC Summer 2023 - Magazine - Page 33
It's about making sure that we deliver
healthcare better, smarter, and with a keen
eye on our resources, providing world-class care
in the most environmentally conscious and
responsible way possible.
Learn more about
WONCA’s call for
a Fossil Fuel NonProliferation Treaty
IN THE LONGER TERM, WE NEED TO SHIFT
THE FOCUS OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY A
WAY FROM HOSPITALS AND TOWARD
PRIMARY AND PREVENTIVE CARE.
IT’S EASY TO GET FRUSTRATED WHEN IT
SEEMS SO DIFFICULT TO MAKE CHANGES —
BUT WE HAVE MORE INFLUENCE THAN WE
OFTEN BELIEVE.
It's about keeping people healthy, about
intervening early before their health starts
to deteriorate, and then if they do get sick,
having effective interventions that mean
they're in the hospital for as brief a period
as possible and then transitioning to care at
home. We've become far too dependent on
the hospital system, which is very expensive,
very resource intensive, very environmentally
damaging. Ultimately good healthcare is
about keeping people healthy rather than
waiting for them to become unwell.
You can start small and just change your
own practice; you can influence how
people in your department think. You can
advocate for more sustainable approaches
to everything from infection control
policies to procurement, waste management
and energy supply. That's actually very
powerful. It’s our duty to speak out against
the fossil fuel industry and the devastating
health impacts that fossil fuels will have
on our health now, and our children’s and
grandchildren’s health in the near future.
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