If the healthcare sector were its own nation, it would be
the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet, accounting for nearly
5% of global net emissions according to the international NGO Health Care
Without Harm
(HCWH).
HCWH has worked for over 25 years to compel affirmative climate action in
health care through the reduction of waste, and through advocacy toward
ecological sustainability and environmental justice (HCWH, 2019).
Sustainability is a core component of high-quality care, and
the imperative to incorporate a “green lens” and embed environmental
sustainability into quality improvement efforts has never been more evident.
Be it through medication optimization, such as replacing agents
which are harmful to the environment with more climate friendly options,
workforce training and education toward environmental sustainability and resource
stewardship, or the uptake of reusables in lieu of disposables, there are
myriad approaches to advancing high-quality, low carbon and sustainable health
systems.
As you work on quality improvement initiatives, it’s important
that you integrate a focus on environmental sustainability and climate
stewardship in your indicators.
Sustainability can be embedded into QI projects through
different approaches:
- First, you can apply a green lens to existing QI work, even
if it doesn't have an explicit sustainability component, to identify potential
environmental implications and co-benefits.
- Second, sustainability itself can be the primary focus of a
QI project. By examining the environmental impact of healthcare processes and
identifying opportunities for more sustainable practices, you can align your QI
work with both healthcare goals and broader environmental priorities.
We encourage you to:
- Formalize and document the sustainable changes you've
introduced, communicating these widely across your teams.
- Build support by showing how they benefit both patients and
the environment. Monitor outcomes, both clinical and environmental
- Use tools to measure your progress, such as run or control
charts, to ensure continued improvement.
As you roll out these changes more broadly, it’s important
to have a spread plan that
integrates
sustainability at every step.
Ontario Health will be introducing information about
environmental sustainability on Quorum from which quality improvement plan
(QIP) administrators can draw inspiration in developing their QIPs for the
upcoming submission cycle. Please be sure to check back when you are developing
your workplan so that you can identify suitable environmental change ideas which
align with your planned initiatives and organizational aims.
We are here to help you along the way! If you have any
questions or comments or would like to get involved to support this initiative,
please comment below or contact us at
qip@ontariohealth.ca.
Reference:
Health Care Without Harm (2019). Health Care’s Climate
Footprint. Retrieved from
https://global.noharm.org/media/4370/download?inline=1.
Last accessed September 5, 2024.