Connor Andrew, Mortimer Frances
Green Nephrology Fellow, The Campaign for Greener Healthcare, Oxford, UK.
J Ren Care. 2010 Sep;36(3):153-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-6686.2010.00183.x.
The impact of unmitigated climate change upon global health is predicted to be disastrous. However, the very provision of healthcare itself has a significant environmental impact, and the contribution of kidney care to the carbon footprint of the NHS is likely to be disproportionately high. Furthermore, the current economic climate will ensure that healthcare systems face unprecedented reductions in resources (or, at the very least, diminished expansion in the face of ongoing increases in demand). Improvements in the way that renal services use resources will address both issues. This survey was designed to identify a baseline for sustainability in kidney care, to support a clinical transformation to lower carbon kidney care by identifying fruitful areas for attention, and to act as an educational tool. The survey identified measures for improvement across the different areas of the provision of kidney care, including building energy use, patient and staff transport, water use and the consumption and procurement of resources. The results of the survey, which was completed by 58 adult and paediatric renal units across England, Scotland, and Wales, are reported here and potential changes are discussed.
预计未加缓解的气候变化对全球健康的影响将是灾难性的。然而，医疗保健本身的提供对环境有着重大影响，肾脏护理对英国国民医疗服务体系（NHS）碳足迹的贡献可能极高。此外，当前的经济形势将确保医疗系统面临前所未有的资源削减（或者至少在需求持续增长的情况下扩张减少）。改善肾脏服务利用资源的方式将解决这两个问题。本次调查旨在确定肾脏护理可持续性的基线，通过确定值得关注的有效领域来支持向低碳肾脏护理的临床转变，并作为一种教育工具。该调查确定了肾脏护理提供的不同领域的改进措施，包括建筑能源使用、患者和工作人员交通、用水以及资源的消耗和采购。本文报告了由英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的58个成人及儿科肾脏科室完成的调查结果，并讨论了潜在的变化。
