Dr Charlie Tomson, consultant nephrologist from Southmead Hospital in Bristol, will be giving a guest presentation on green nephrology to the technical session of this year's BRS conference.
In his briefing note for conference delegates, Dr Tomson points out: "the NHS is responsible for at least 3% of the total carbon output of the UK (18 MtCO2), 30% of public sector admissions; and the care of patients with kidney disease contributes disproportionately to this total. Healthcare workers also have the capacity to lead by example; if patients and carers witness healthcare taking climate change seriously and making concerted efforts to reduce waste and energy consumption, they are more likely to do so themselves."
"Some dialysis units are already working on reducing some of this waste, with re-use of post-RO water, efficient heat exchange, recycling of packaging, ensuring that only genuine clinical waste goes to incineration, and many other examples. Some centres are working on a ‘virtual clinic’ model where some patients are followed by phone consultation in combination with blood tests done locally, rather than the conventional model of travelling to the hospital."