Connecting the dots between a sustainability agenda, infection prevention and antimicrobial resistance
Branwen S. Morgan
A * and Emma-Leigh Synnott B
A
B
Prof. Branwen Morgan is based at CSIRO where she leads the Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Mission, which was co-developed with the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Her team works with national and international partners to create a sustainable One Health ecosystem that enables and accelerates the development, uptake and adoption of solutions to prevent, manage and respond to AMR in humans, animals and the environment. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology—Sydney. (Photograph by Joseph Byford.) |
Dr Emma-Leigh Synnott lives and works on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja, Western Australia. She is the WA Chair for Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), a Senior Research Fellow and assistant lecturer atthe Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI), consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Medical Lead for Climate Health and Environmental Sustainability at the South Metropolitan Health Service. Emma also works closely with the Climate Justice Union (CJU) as part of the WA hub of the National Healthy Environment and Lives (HEAL) Research Network. |
Abstract
Australia’s healthcare sector accounts for up to 7% of Australia’s carbon footprint. However, the sector has broader direct and indirect environmental impacts. There’s a balance to be struck between reducing environmental impact and optimising infection prevention and control strategies, which include minimising antimicrobial resistance. The discussion covers health service demand, low carbon care, patient-centred treatment, safe medication disposal and single use medical supplies, as well as wastewater with Australian-based examples. Barriers to implementation of a sustainability agenda include an already stretched health system and a disconnect between community health, hospital systems and processes and those who have the capital, capability and resources to drive these efforts. This article explores the environmental impacts of the healthcare system and current strategies to improve sustainability through the lens of infection prevention. This includes the potential unintended negative consequences for the prevention and management of antimicrobial resistance.
Keywords: AMR, antimicrobial resistance, carbon footprint, environment, healthcare, infection prevention, One Health, pollution, sustainability.
Prof. Branwen Morgan is based at CSIRO where she leads the Minimising Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Mission, which was co-developed with the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Her team works with national and international partners to create a sustainable One Health ecosystem that enables and accelerates the development, uptake and adoption of solutions to prevent, manage and respond to AMR in humans, animals and the environment. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology—Sydney. (Photograph by Joseph Byford.) |
Dr Emma-Leigh Synnott lives and works on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja, Western Australia. She is the WA Chair for Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), a Senior Research Fellow and assistant lecturer atthe Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI), consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Medical Lead for Climate Health and Environmental Sustainability at the South Metropolitan Health Service. Emma also works closely with the Climate Justice Union (CJU) as part of the WA hub of the National Healthy Environment and Lives (HEAL) Research Network. |
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