The story of the Sambhavna Clinic, a non-profit holistic health clinic in Bhopal, India, built to treat those injured by the Union Carbide toxic gas release in 1984. enlarge video
Contact: Anja Leetz +49 152 5397 8103
Healthcare Professionals met at CleanMed Europe 2012 to discuss transformation of health provision
Brussels — 350 attendees from 34 countries and 5 continents met for CleanMed Europe 2012 in Malmö, Sweden last week to discuss and share best practice of sustainable healthcare provision in Europe and beyond.
Our goal to improve public health and healthcare is related to the mission of hospitals and health systems of first do no harm and we are pleased that our conference provides a platform for the exchange to happen.
Executive Director
HCWH Europe
Lena Ek, Swedish Minister for the Environment addressed the delegates pointing out that more need to be done to reduce the number of death due to bad air quality.
Dr Carlos Dora who manages WHO’s global programme on health impact assessment and health in sector policies stated that green health facilities are good for health and sustainable development. Prof. Hugh Montgomery from the University College London laid out the impacts due to climate change and the need for radical and timely action.
Sonia Roschnik, operational Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit expressed the commitment of her unit to support Health Care Without Harm’s project, the Global Green and Healthy Hospital, a network of hospitals and health systems working to make healthcare more sustainable.
Dr. Shu-Ti Chiou, the chair of the governance board of the International Health Promoting Hospital Network and Director-General of the Bureau of Health Promotion at the Department of Health in Taiwan showed how Taiwanese hospitals have taken up the challenges of the Global Green and Healthy Hospital Initiative and measure improvements among them.
16 parallel sessions enabled participants to learn and connect to leaders in the field of green procurement, PVC replacement strategies, energy solutions, non-toxic healthcare, responsible supply chain management, leadership in healthcare to name a few. In addition over 100 conference participants attended the Green Tech Visits on either side of the conference to learn about local Swedish solutions about building design, biogas and district heating, energy efficiency and sustainable city solutions.
Today these healthcare professionals are returning to work with renewed energy and tools for engaging in sustainable healthcare with information, contacts and examples of how it can be done. Anja Leetz, Executive Director of Health Care Without Harm Europe stated: “CleanMed Europe is inspiring and energising and people walk away with many new contacts and ideas how to green their daily practice. Our goal to improve public health and healthcare is related to the mission of hospitals and health systems of first do no harm and we are pleased that our conference provides a platform for the exchange to happen. We are keen to see the implementation and learning that goes on across Europe and globally and to report back next year at CleanMed Europe 2013 in Oxford.”
CleanMed US next conference will be held on April 24-26, 2013 in Boston, Mass.
CleanMed Europe next conference will be held from September 17-19, 2013 in Oxford, UK.
Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. Visit the HCWH website for more information.
