Taking steps towards a healthier planet
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is making progress on its environmental initiatives.
After the Department of Anesthesia received a grant from the Vancouver Physician Staff Association, a committee of clinicians looked for opportunities to reduce VCH’s environmental footprint while still maintaining high quality patient care.
First, they eliminated desflurane at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), a commonly used anesthetic gas for inpatient and outpatient surgery in adults. Desflurane has a global warming impact potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide and up to 26 times worse than other inhaled anesthetic gases. Dr. Andrea MacNeill, a surgeon and Regional Medical Director of Planetary Health at VCH, demonstrated that the use of desflurane at the hospital was a greater contributor to global warming than all the operating room energy requirements and consumable materials combined. VGH’s anesthesia team acted quickly and discontinued using desflurane.
The committee also wanted to reduce the use of nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas." To address this, the committee replaced the existing piped-in network at VGH with a small local supply. This move was widely supported and has an impact equivalent to removing 57 cars from the road yearly.
“I’ve not met any health-care providers who aren’t frustrated by the environmental impact our work causes,” said Dr. Stewart Brown, who is working on the nitrous oxide project. “Where we can find ways to improve this, the support is incredible.”
What is planetary health?
Planetary health is the idea that human health is dependent upon a healthy environment. In other words, our wellbeing is contingent upon clean air, clean water, clean soil and a stable climate. Climate change threatens these things, and without them we can’t live or thrive.
New planetary health focused menu at VGH
Another VCH initiative is limiting its environmental impact with a new planetary health focused menu at VGH. In 2023, Dr. Annie Lalande, surgical resident and PhD student in Resources, Environment and Sustainability at University of British Columbia (UBC), and Tiffany Chiang, Director, Food Service Transformation and Strategic Projects at VCH, brought together food services staff, dietitians, clinicians and planetary health experts to work alongside Ned Bell, renowned chef and sustainable food champion, in developing the menu items. More than 20 new menu items have been developed to offer patients a diversity of choices, incorporating patient preferences and ingredients with lower environmental impacts.
Nutrition is an essential part of recovery from illness and injury, and good food can provide comfort to patients while in hospital. The ingredients chosen can also impact the health of our planet. The new menu offers more plant-based protein sources and a greater variety of foods and flavours to reflect diverse communities and patients. With an unwavering eye on sustainability, the menu aspires to reduce food waste, enhance patient satisfaction and create a blueprint for healthier, ecologically responsible practices.