Sustainability and OH Flashcards
What is the definition of sustainability?
“Able to continue over a period of time”
What three levels of sustainability are useful to look over in regard to healthcare?
- Global Sustainability
- Sustainability of the NHS
- Personal and Career Sustainability
Why is global sustainability important to healthcare?
- Material Inequality (world’s wealthier are getting richer)
- Population and Consumption
- Resource Depletion (was estimated we had consumed half of the earth’s extractable reserves of oil and gas and that they are likely to be completely depleted by the end of the 21st century)
- Climate Change
- Loss of Biodiversity
- Crisis in Healthcare (ageing population: increases in chronic disease and increased spending on healthcare)
What is useful to know about global warming?
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that evidence for global warming is unequivocal
- Last 150 years, the 12 warmest years on record have occurred in the last 13
What action can be taken for global warming?
- Increase use of renewable energy resources ( that is any natural energy resource that can be replenished with the passage of time)
- Modifying human behaviour, being more active
- Move back to more plant based diet
- Educate on carbon literacy and numeracy
- Promote patient resilience
- Teach healthcare students that as well as human anatomical systems we are also part of a wider ecological system
What are some of the goals set for low carbon clinical care and NHS sustainability?
- Prioritise Environmental Health
- Substitute harmful chemicals with safer alternatives. Reduce and safely dispose of waste
- Use energy efficiently and switch to renewable energy. Reduce water consumption
- Improve travel strategies
- Purchase and serve sustainably grown food
- Safely manage and dispose of pharmaceuticals
- Adopt greener building design and construction. Purchase safer more sustainable products
What would low Carbon Clinical Care look like?
- Be better at preventing conditions
- Give greater responsibility to patients in managing their health.
- Be leaner in service design and delivery
- Use the lowest carbon technologies
What are the SNP’s current aims regarding climate change?
- “Meet the funding challenge” laid down by the chief executive of the English NHS in the Stevens Report by voting for a £24 billion increase in health spending, £9.5 billion more inflation. This will lead to the Scottish NHS budget increasing by £2 billion.”
- “They will vote to stop the supposed privatisation of the English NHS.”
Which new doctors contract came into play in 2018?
- In 2018, a majority of General Practitioners in Scotland voted for a changed national GP contract.
- The BMA in Scotland stated it will reduce workload and improve recruitment
What is the suggested change to the definition of health from the current WHO definition?
‘a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease’
to
‘resilience, adaptation and self management in the face of physical, social and emotional challenges’.
How can we as medical professionals practice sustainability and resilience in our career?
Look at the positives:
- Job Security
- Financial Security
- Stable Terms and Conditions
- Respect for Professionalism and Knowledge.
- Appreciation for being in the role of a doctor.
- Working with a team over time.
- Ability to develop knowledge and interests.
- Ability to fit work around interests and lifestyle choices.
Challenges:
- Considerable and rapid workload – for example 10 minute appointments
- Time management.
- Increasingly complex care over time.
- Relentless arrival of mail and blood results, and having enough time to action them diligently.
- Care versus cure - long term conditions
- Perhaps running a business over time.
- Need to ensure the team is harmonious and effective.
What is the definition of sustainability and resilience?
Cambridge Dictionary definition of resilience is the ability to “Quickly return to a previous good condition.”
The Cambridge dictionary defines sustainability the ability to be “Able to continue over a period of time”
What are we required to find out regarding an occupational history?
An occupational and environmental history is a chronological list of all the patient’s employment with the intention of determining whether work has caused ill health, exacerbated an existing health problem or has ill health had an impact on the patient’s capacity to work.
- A description of the present and previous jobs from leaving school.
- Identifying any exposure to chemicals or other hazards ( may need to see confirmation from labels).
- Did the symptoms improve when not exposed e.g. at weekends, holidays?
- Determine the duration and intensity of exposure e.g. was it so noisy it was impossible to communicate
- Is personal protection used e.g. what kind of mask?
- What maintenance is in place for the protection measures?
- Do others suffer similar symptoms?
- Are there known environmental hazards in use?
- Any hobbies, pets, worked overseas, moonlighting?
What is the fit note?
- This replaced the ‘sick note ‘ in April 2010.
- It’s purpose is to facilitate earlier discussion about returning to work and about rehabilitation.
- It now includes items of consideration for employers when signing a patient’s return to work.
- It can only be completed by a Doctor
- It is advice to patients as employees, is not binding on the employer and does not affect Statutory Sick Pay
- It is required if the patient has been off more than 7 consecutive days ( including non working days)
What is the role of occupational health?
- Ensuring the health and well being of the working population by preventing work-related ill health and providing specialist rehabilitation advice.
- They provide independent, impartial advice to employers and employees on the effects of work on health and the effects of health on work
