IFHE NEWS Extending ‘first, do no harm’ to our planet


Writing in the latest IFHE Newsletter (March 2023, viewable on the Federation’s website at https:// mailchi.mp/ifhe.info/ifhe-newsletter- march-2023), President, Steve Rees (pictured), highlights both the value and importance of all across the healthcare engineering sector globally learning from each other’s experience, and the need for concerted action to mitigate climate change.


Explaining that the IFHE Executive


Committee (ExCo) meets once annually in person if possible, and every month ‘virtually’, throughout the year, he says: “Due to members being in different time zones worldwide, the time of the meetings has to be calculated carefully. With the current membership we have found that 2 pm Central European Time works well. Where I’m located, in Alberta, Canada, the meeting time is 6 am, and the time in Adelaide, Australia, for Joint General Secretary, Darryl Pitcher, is 11.30 pm.


Sharing a common bond “At our last meeting in February, I was


saying that the temperature in Edmonton where I live was -29 °C that morning, and – with the wind chill factored in – close to -40 °C. Darryl responded that the temperature in Adelaide that day was 40 °C. So there was a 70-80 °C difference in temperatures in our two locations. My point here is that it doesn’t matter what time zone we are located in, what our weather is like, or what our general organisational differences are – we all have the common bond of healthcare engineering. So, no matter if, for instance, you are involved in healthcare facility design, maintenance, operation, construction, planning, or biomedical technology, anywhere in the world, we can all learn from each other. There has never been a time more important than now to


share our learnings and experience with each other.”


A responsibility to act He continues: “As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we discussed the need to continue the focus on climate change in both decarbonisation of our facilities, and building resiliency to extreme weather conditions. At COP27 it was stated that on a global average basis, healthcare systems account for over 4% of global CO2


emissions. For most


industrialised nations, that figure is closer to 10% of national emissions – more than the aviation or shipping sectors. As an industry which includes health technology companies, healthcare systems, and other stakeholders, we have a responsibility to act. It is time to extend the principle of ‘first, do no harm’ – the very foundation of healthcare – to the planet. There has been a lot of good work done, but of course there is so much more to do. Sorry to repeat myself, but this is so important for healthcare around the world.” He added: “On that note, Walt Vernon, our IFHE 2nd Vice-President, is working on our Global Healthcare Energy Awards. As


Walt mentioned at our last Congress, the award will be changing to have a carbon reduction focus, rather than focusing just on energy. You will be hearing more about the award in the near future. Walt is also recording interviews with the 2022 winners, where they share information on their successful energy make-overs at their facilities. We shared the first one with the South African winners in our last newsletter. It is our intention to have the interviews available on the ‘News’ page on the website, www.ifhe.info, as they become available. “The members of your ExCo continue to


look at ways to improve communication with our members, and adding value to your membership. We plan to meet virtually with the executive of all individual A Member Associations of IFHE and ask how we can better serve our members. I challenge all of you to think about how we can improve communication with frontline members, and increase the value of your membership. Please connect with your association, and let them know of any suggestions you have. If you would like to discuss any ideas with me personally, feel free to contact me at steve.rees@ahs.ca. “I look forward to our next in-person


Council Meeting in Mexico City on 24 November this year. IFHE will be joining the Sociedad Mexicana de Architectos Especializados en Salud (SMAES) for its annual conference, taking place from 3-9 November. IFHE-EU will also be meeting for its 10th Congress in Paris from 14-16 June this year. The 28th IFHE Congress will then take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 17-19 October, 2024. “I would like to conclude by saying


that our thoughts are with the people that are currently suffering in Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, and any other country less fortunate than ours.”


The ‘Environmental Sustainability’ section of the March 2023 IFHE Newsletter explains that the World Health Organization has declared that ‘Climate Change – not Cancer, not chronic disease, not infectious disease – is the defining public health threat we face in this century’.


Against this backdrop, IFHE launched its Energy Reduction Awards programme in 2020, to encourage and celebrate the work of its members in reducing their collective energy footprint. The IFHE says: “At our International Congress in Toronto in


16 Health Estate Journal May 2023


2024 Awards to recognise both energy and carbon reduction 2022, we recognised IFHE members from


around the world who participated in the programme, and who were collectively able to reduce our energy and carbon footprint in meaningful ways. “This year, IFHE is launching the second round of our Awards programme. For now, the programme looks much the same as the previous version. You can begin to collect and input your data now. Behind the scenes, though, we are working to build out the carbon impacts of the energy reductions, so that our winners in 2024 will be recognised for not only reducing energy,


but also for reducing carbon. “We, the members of IFHE, are the people who plan, design, construct, and operate, healthcare facilities. We have the unique gift to contribute to the health of our collective planet, by reducing our carbon footprint. Science tells us we must do this, and, if we do not do it, who will? If we do not do it now, when will we do it? Let’s help IFHE and all of our members drive down carbon emissions from the health sector, and - in doing so - help address this century’s defining health challenge. Thank you from the IFHE.”


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