Foreword
Over the past century, significant advances in medicine, technology and urban development have increased our quality of life immensely. However, achieving these gains has led to negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of our planet. As healthcare professionals, we are uniquely placed to contribute to significant and sustainable change in the field of planetary health. Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) has a responsibility to reduce our environmental impact whilst achieving the highest standard of health, wellbeing and equity for our patients, our workforce and our community. We know that our current levels of resource consumption are unsustainable. By focusing on the governance, economic and social systems that shape planetary health, we have an opportunity to increase the resilience of our health system whilst reducing our impact on climate change. Part of our responsibility as a local health district is to help and improve the health conditions affecting our community. As healthcare moves towards a more virtual experience, we will continue to leverage the sustainable benefits of technology and new models of care. The decisions we make today when designing and delivering clinical services and implementing sustainable business practices, will continue to affect the health and wellbeing of our patients and our community for many generations to come. Our inaugural NSLHD Planetary Health Framework 2021 – 2023 sets out our commitment to improving and reducing our environmental footprint and subsequent impact on the planet and climate change. Five priority domains have been identified to achieve this: sustainable organisation, waste management and resource recovery, capital works and procurement, models of care and people and places. I look forward to working with you to ensure NSLHD continues to provide world class healthcare whilst actively seeking opportunities to become an environmentally sustainable organisation.
Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
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