GP seeks to extend Greener Practice model
CREATING greener primary healthcare is the focus for a group of healthcare workers.
Greener Practice Guernsey, chaired by Dr Victoria Toumazi, is using sustainability to improve the health of islanders and the planet.
Dr Toumazi realised when she moved to Guernsey that there was not a Greener Practice group in the island and set one up in affiliation with the national organisation.
‘I work at Queens Road Medical Practice, which is forward-looking and into thinking about sustainability, so it was great to have the support from my colleagues and I reached out to other surgeries and it has grown from there,’ she said.
‘We are trying step-by-step to get some projects under way and get key people involved to make more eco-friendly choices in healthcare.’
Greener Practice Guernsey has already made environmental changes in relation to asthma treatment.
‘Certain asthma inhalers have the biggest carbon footprint of all medicines, so from a clinical perspective that’s what I wanted to tackle first,’ said Dr Toumazi.
‘There is a crossover between greener asthma care and providing high quality asthma care.’
Regular use of reliever inhalers is an indicator of uncontrolled asthma, putting patients at higher risk of flare ups and leading to appointments with GPs and the emergency department and hospital admissions.
This leads to higher costs for patients and the health system and also a larger carbon footprint.
Dr Toumazi created a greener inhaler guideline, which has since been adopted by Health & Social Care.
The group is looking forward to continuing to inspire change and encourage greener decisions in medicine and prescribing.
Following the pandemic, it has identified less waste from single-use items such as gloves and masks, but is trying to encourage better environmental practice with other single-use items, such as speculums for smear tests, by switching to greener alternatives.
. Greener Practice Guernsey is looking to expand its membership in primary care and invites any interested healthcare professionals from GP surgeries, pharmacies or other allied primary care services to email GSYgreenerpractice@gmail.com.
