The visit to Australia by Dr David Pencheon, Founding Director of the National Health Service (NHS) Sustainable Development Unit, in April-May 2018 generated considerable interest and engagement. Dr Pencheon's overarching messages were that climate change is a health issue and that doctors and health systems have an opportunity, and responsibility, to lead climate action. This article distils Dr Pencheon's presentations into three themes: (i) carbon accounting; (ii) transformational change in our systems of healthcare; and (iii) a health system fit for the future. For each theme, we highlight promising initiatives that are already underway in Australia that are starting to transform our health system into one fit for a future environmentally sustainable world. We suggest practical ways in which doctors can lead the transformation through personal action and influence broader systems.
1.Univ Notre Dame Australia, Sch Med, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2.Univ Notre Dame Australia, Sch Med, Learning & Teaching, Sydney, NSW, Australia 3.South Eastern Sydney Local Hlth Dist, Primary Integrated & Community Hlth, Sydney, NSW, Australia 4.Univ Sydney, Sch Publ Hlth, Planetary Hlth Platform, Sydney, NSW, Australia 5.Univ Exeter, Sch Med, Hlth & Sustainable Dev, Exeter, Devon, England
Recommended Citation:
Sainsbury, Peter,Charlesworth, Kate,Madden, Lynne,et al. Climate change is a health issue: what can doctors do?[J]. INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL,2019-01-01,49(8):1044-1048