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Archive for green

Green dialysis program in Geelong

by CAHA
September 24th, 2013

By CAHA Convenor, Fiona Armstrong

“I had the pleasure of attending the September meeting of the Victorian Green Health Round Table Group this month and was inspired by some of the actions being taken within Victorian hospitals to reduce their environmental footprint and save resources.

Individuals from around fifteen major hospital groups met at Barwon Health in Geelong to discuss current initiatives and to hear from Professor John Agar on the world leading green dialysis program run at Barwon Health.

Professor Agar shared the success of the green dialysis program, and the Barwon team’s contribution to starting the world’s literature on eco-dialysis. There are now 30 publications in the health and medical literature about this program.

The program began as a nocturnal dialysis program to allow patients to dialyse at home, however the excessive costs associated with water, power and waste that were then borne by patients forced a rethink about how to take a smarter approach to water use and re-use and sourcing cheaper power.

The unit now provides the world’s first solar powered dialysis system and recycles and reuses reject water from the reverse osmosis system. Patients are sent home with solar panels that cover all the energy requirements of the dialysis machine.

A recent publication in Australian Health Review on the carbon footprint of dialysis outlines the carbon footprint of the unit and compares it to other hypothetical units in other states in order to predict the impact of local factors on emissions profiles.

In the longer term the team hopes to have a purpose built facility that is eco friendly, eco responsive, and carbon light in order to deliver ecodialysis services to all patients.”

For more info, see www.greendialysis.org

Categories Advocacy, Climate, Environment, Health, healthcare, Solar, Sustainability
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Greening the health sector: think tank report

by CAHA
October 5th, 2012

The Climate and Health Alliance and Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Assocations co-hosted a “Greening the Health Sector Policy Think Tank” in Sydney in August 2012.

This event was attended by 52 enthusiastic participants from a range of health facilities, state departments and universities. We certainly achieved our aim of starting an important conversation about how hospitals and healthcare providers can reduce their own carbon footprints (mitigation), and in doing so how the Australian health system can be strengthened through the promotion of greater sustainability and environmental health. While hospitals have a big ”environmental footprint”, many are finding that sustainability measures benefit patients and the environment and offer financial savings. We also discussed the role of the health sector in building capacity to deal with the impact of climate change on health services (adaptation). A Policy Issues Brief on this topic was drafted for the AHHA’s Institute, and circulated to registrants ahead of the PTT.

Download the report from the Think Tank here.

The keynote speaker was Professor Peter Orris from the USA, Senior Advisor from CAHA’s international partner organisation, Health Care Without Harm.

Professor Orris is the Director of the Occupational Health Service Institute and Global Chemicals Policy Program at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, a component of a WHO Collaborating Center. Dr Orris has served as advisor to WHO, PAHO, Federal, State and Local Governments, environmental organizations, labor unions and corporations.

A series of Canberra-based meetings were organized with Peter in the two-days ahead of the PTT including with the Minister for Health and Ageing (Tanya Plibersek), the Minister for Climate Change’s Chief of Staff (Allan Behm), Senators Richard Di Natale and Nick Xenophon and officers from the Departments of Health and Ageing and Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Professor Orris also presented a seminar for the staff at the Department of Climate Change with about 50 attendees.

Other speakers included:

  • Dr Kate Charlesworth, Public Health Registrar previously from the NHS Sustainable Development Unit
  • Mr Glen Hadfield, Manager, Asset Systems & Sustainability, Western Sydney Local Health District
  • Dr Forbes McGain, Anaesthetist and Intensive Care Physician, Western Health Footscray, Vic
  • Professor Tony Capon, Head of the Discipline of Public Health Faculty of Health University of Canberra

The presentations from the Greening the Healthcare Sector Policy Think Tank are available here.

Categories Advocacy, Climate, Energy, Health policy, healthcare, Sustainability, Uncategorized
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