Szirt Richard, Monjur Mohammad R, McGovern Laurna, Charlesworth Kate, O'Connor Stephen, Weaver James Crofton, Coughlan J J
St George Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
St George Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Heart Lung Circ. 2023 Jan;32(1):11-15. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2022.06.694. Epub 2022 Aug 11.
The health care sector contributes to nearly 5% of global carbon emissions with the exponential growth of medical waste posing a significant challenge to environmental sustainability. As the impact of climate change on individuals and population health becomes increasingly more apparent, the health care system's significant impact on the environment is also raising concerns. Hospitals contribute disproportionately to health care waste with the majority arising from resource intensive areas such as operating theatres and cardiac catheter labs (CCLs). Despite the growing volume of cardiac procedures worldwide, initiatives to reduce waste from CCLs have received limited attention, overlooking opportunities for significant reduction in operational costs and carbon footprint. We aim to raise awareness of the current landscape of waste management in CCLs. We identify areas of resource optimisation and highlight practical strategies and frameworks employed elsewhere in health care to reduce waste. Importantly, we hope to empower health care workers in CCLs to make a meaningful change to their practice and contribute towards a more sustainable future.
随着医疗废物呈指数级增长，对环境可持续性构成重大挑战，医疗保健部门的碳排放量占全球近5%。随着气候变化对个人和人群健康的影响日益明显，医疗保健系统对环境的重大影响也引发了人们的关注。医院产生的医疗废物占比过高，其中大部分来自手术室和心脏导管实验室（CCL）等资源密集型区域。尽管全球心脏手术数量不断增加，但减少CCL废物的举措受到的关注有限，忽视了大幅降低运营成本和碳足迹的机会。我们旨在提高人们对CCL废物管理现状的认识。我们确定资源优化领域，并强调医疗保健其他领域为减少废物而采用的实用策略和框架。重要的是，我们希望使CCL的医护人员能够切实改变他们的做法，为更可持续的未来做出贡献。
