News

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New Standards support practices to ‘take steps’ on climate action

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With the recent release of the RACGP’s sixth edition Standards for general practices, the college has provided further context for including new environmental sustainability content.
 
The Standards’ environmental sustainability criterion is intended to encourage practices to consider opportunities to reduce their environmental impact where appropriate and feasible. It allows practices to choose activities that are relevant, practical and achievable within their own context.
 
In response to member feedback and to provide more details about this criterion, the RACGP says inclusion of this content reflects how the Standards support practices in this space.
 
It also demonstrates increasing recognition of the relationship between environmental factors, climate-related events and health outcomes, as well as the healthcare sector’s contribution to environmental impacts. This includes:

• building a climate‑resilient general practice
• reducing environmental impact through everyday practice
• supporting sustainable and climate‑informed clinical care
• creating a culture of sustainability and shared responsibility.

Dr Nicole Sleeman, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Climate and Environmental Medicine, told newsGP the environmental additions connect to the bigger goal of building a climate-resilient system.
 
‘The environmental sustainability provisions reflect the growing impact of climate change on population health and the healthcare system,’ she said.
 
‘The Standards are intended to support practices to take practical steps to address climate change and contribute to a climate-resilient health sector, while maintaining a strong focus on patient safety and the delivery of healthcare.’
 
These impacts are also reflected in the college’s updated Climate change and planetary health position statement which backs recommendations in the National Health and Climate Strategy that climate resilience is now a recognised health-system priority.
 
The strategy calls for health-system preparedness, response and recovery from climate-related disasters and extreme weather events, including by ‘strengthening the role of primary care’.
 
Dr Sleeman says the RACGP’s inclusion of climate resilience in the Standards is one way general practice can play its part in this broader national health-system objective.
 
‘For general practice, climate resilience is fundamentally about being prepared to maintain safe, continuous patient care during climate-related events and other disruptions – including extreme heat, bushfire smoke, floods and storms,’ she said.
 
Also included in the sixth edition Standards is information about the purchase of carbon credits, which the RACGP clarified is not an accreditation requirement, but is one example of a potential initiative that some organisations may choose to consider as part of broader sustainability activities.
 
Practices are not expected to incur significant costs or undertake activities beyond what is reasonable for their circumstance.
 
For many practices, this may involve relatively simple measures such as reducing paper use, improving energy efficiency, increasing recycling, or reviewing procurement practices.
 
The Standards also note that practices ‘do not need to be an environmental specialist’ to be more sustainable or climate‑ready, given that many practices are already taking actions such as updating emergency plans, reducing energy use, improving waste management or helping patients stay healthy during extreme weather.
 
For practice owner Dr Bernard Shiu, whose clinic has embraced environmental sustainability, ‘greening general practice is a journey’.
 
‘Every practice starts from a different position and must be able to progress at a pace appropriate to its resources and circumstances,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘The new Standards should not be interpreted as requiring practices to become carbon neutral or invest in expensive infrastructure overnight.
 
‘As a practice owner, I do not see environmental and financial sustainability as competing priorities. Many practical measures – reducing energy consumption, improving waste segregation, avoiding unnecessary consumables and limiting expired stock – can lower operating costs while also reducing environmental impact.
 
‘Done well, greening a practice can help keep it viable.’
 
The need for climate-related event preparedness is reinforced by the Federal Government’s National Climate Risk Assessment, Dr Sleeman points out, which rates current climate risk to Australia’s health and social support system as ‘moderate – high’, with that risk expected to increase to ‘severe’ by 2050.
 
‘In this context, practical measures that strengthen practice preparedness, continuity of care and support for vulnerable patients are not simply environmental initiatives – they are part of managing emerging risks to patient safety and the delivery of healthcare,’ she said.
 
Meanwhile, Dr Shiu acknowledges that many general practices are already operating under ‘enormous financial and workforce pressure’ with some simply trying to keep their doors open.
 
‘Their concerns about another accreditation requirement must be heard rather than dismissed,’ he said.
 
‘Success will depend on practical guidance, flexibility and support – not judgement, blame or an unrealistic expectation that every practice must do everything at once.’
 
Dr Sleeman and Dr Shiu hosted a recent member webinar on sustainability in general practice which guides practices to meet the new standards – the on-demand recording is available on the RACGP website, along with more information on sustainability actions in general practice.
 
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climate change climate resilience environmental sustainability general practice accreditation Standards for general practices

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