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Reducing the carbon footprint of end-of-life care

Max Watson

Director of Project ECHO Hospice UK

Palliative Medicine Consultant, Omagh

Associate Professor St. John’s Bangalore

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Extractive Economic Basis climate injustice and entitlement societies

PanCrises

Brexit

Pandemic

Russia in Ukraine

Economic inflation

Food banks for NHS Staff

Leadership vaccuum

Guilts of awareness

Emotional weariness

Workforce pressures

Hospice Finance Gaps

Uncertainty++

Enviromental, economic and social responsibility exposed

Internal Paralysers

External Paralysers

Too busy doing “important” stuff

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WHY?

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Are we being good ancestors? – Jonas Salk

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Are we being good ancestors? – Jonas Salk

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1.Palliative Care Showing up to the Climate Emergency

Showing up now

Showing up in the areas where we can

Showing up with the people with whom we can

Learning together as we show up

Showing up means bringing our heart and mind into the suffering of the climate emergency

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2. Learn from others apply in Hospice/Palliative care

https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk

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Frances Mortimer et al. Future Healthc J 2018;5:88-93

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3. Harness the current appetite to act …if we only knew what to do…

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4. We need to gather baseline data from Hospices & Palliative Care Services

Frances Mortimer et al. Future Healthc J 2018;5:88-93

Goods and services carbon hotspots by healthcare sector.

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5. Support and connect Green Champions across Hospice and Palliative Care

Everyone a teacher, everyone a learner

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5. Support and connect Green Champions across Hospice and Palliative Care

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5. Support and connect Green Champions across Hospice and Palliative Care

Generate

“If only we knew what to do…”

“This worked for us.”

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6. Collaborate with others and share our unique contribution to reduce global warming

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The most unsustainable healthcare is care which brings detriment to patients and is futile (10%)

Affirmation that dying is a HUMAN event not a medical one

Listening to what patients are really saying and promoting engagement rather than default activity

Promoting true value in healthcare delivery.

Sometimes “We need to do nothing really well”

Palliative care

Deprescribe, reuse, re-evaluate risk, virtual services, compassionate communities

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Show up

Learn

Harness good will

Get Data

Support Champions

Collaborate