Green healthcare: the family physician

Healthcare workers have a key part to play in increasing awareness of climate matters, Min-Nang Lin believes.

“Research around the world has shown that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers are perceived to be among the most trustworthy professionals,” he says. “So, we have an important role in raising awareness among the general population about environmental problems, sustainability, and the dangers of climate change.”

Lin is a family physician with an interest in public health. “After I passed the board examination of the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine, I worked in a rural area in Taiwan and I knew that I needed more knowledge of public health to learn how to prevent diseases, so I took a masters degree in public health,” he explains. “One ounce of prevention is better than one pound of treatment. The cessation of smoking, exercise, and a plant based diet are very important.”

Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital is run by a Buddhist foundation that includes not only a number of hospitals but also a university and high schools. It provides and entirely plant based diet. “As Buddhists, we do not believe in killing so we do not eat meat,” he says.

“It has significant health benefits—the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as group 1 carcinogenic to humans, along with tobacco and asbestos. It’s better for our health as individuals to have a plant based diet and it’s better for the health of the planet. We describe it as one action with two solutions.”

Lin has been instrumental in driving environmental and sustainability initiatives at the hospital, which is a member of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH).

“Our hospital was already looking at how we could reduce our environmental impact, but we didn’t have a framework, so with HPH we established a taskforce on the environment, and worked with the non-governmental organisation Healthcare without Harm to produce international guidelines,” he says. These guidelines cover matters including medical waste, toxic materials, green architecture, energy and water use, sustainable procurement, and transport.

He believes that strong leadership is crucial to the success of environmental, low carbon initiatives. “Our leadership team is supportive of what we are trying to achieve,” he says.

Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital uses a grey water system, which treats water for use in toilets and on the gardens that surround the hospital. It has a highly efficient air conditioning system which uses up to 20% less electricity than conventional systems. It also provides a free shuttle bus service, along 26 routes, to encourage patients and visitors not to use their cars, saving patients money and reducing their transportation carbon footprint.

“I think about the impact that my work as a doctor has on the environment on a daily basis,” Lin says. “Inhalers for asthma, for example, contain powerful greenhouse gases and we use a lot of disposable equipment. We try to recycle wherever possible. And we spread that message to all our staff.”

Lin also spreads that message wider, to an international audience, speaking at conferences and engaging in the work of HPH, Healthcare without Harm, the World Organisation of Family Doctors, and the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals initiative.

“If I could tell my younger self one thing it would be to practise my English and polish it, so I can encourage colleagues around the world to be more environmentally friendly,” he says. “Climate change is an imminent threat to people’s health with the greater spread of diseases such as dengue fever and natural disasters which will add a much bigger burden on health services. If we work upstream on reducing the impact of climate change as well as downstream on preventative health, then we will have healthier people and a healthier planet.”