Decarbonising our health system one commute at a time

Dr Katie Panaretto, AMA Queensland Climate and Sustainability Working Group member and Council specialist representative

Dr Katie Panaretto is a highly experienced GP and public health physician, respected for important contributions to maternal health, and health information systems in general practice and Aboriginal primary health.

She has worked in both urban, regional and remote areas across Queensland and has served on many national committees including the Medicare Review Taskforce - GP and Primary Care Committee, and the North West Health and Hospital Service Board. She currently sits on the national eHealth committee.

It’s no secret that our health system is under immense strain.

Between ambulance ramping, elective surgery backlog and the decline in bulk billing, it’s easy to point fingers at our workforce shortage.

While this is certainly a powerful force at play, Queensland has a system of demand akin to motorway congestion.

Invaluable advances in healthcare mean people are living longer, but our system is currently not set up to handle the increasing volume of chronic, and mostly preventable, disease as a result.

We relieve the pressures as best we can by recruiting more doctors and health workers or by further innovating our health care models.

However, this only works for a short period before we are swamped again, and the cycle continues.

Another force is the rising cost of providing health care.

As access to primary care continues to decline with the underfunding of Medicare and rising cost of living, patients are struggling to prioritise preventive health.

Underlying causes of ill health largely include housing pressures, mental health and the cost of a nutritious diet. When patients can’t afford these things, let alone a visit to their GP, that’s when health begins to deteriorate.

We live in a system that is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle and we need to be having broader discussions about how we can foster a healthier community.

In June, the CSWG developed and finalised its Active Travel Position Statement, promoting active travel across transport systems, the health sector and individual clinics.

A large component of this work encourages people to use public transport, cycle or walk instead of driving to improve both the health of them and the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

National road transport emissions have increased by nearly 60 per cent over the past 23 years and now account for 19 per cent of Australia’s overall emissions.

Decarbonising transport in Australia is vital for the health of individuals, our communities and the environment.

The Queensland Government’s 50 cent fare trial for all state-owned public transport is a step in the right direction, and we hope to see it implemented long term.  

Affordable public transport will not only ease congestion, but in doing so, will reduce emissions and bolster the health of our communities.

Fewer cars on the road means less pollution and a healthier planet, lungs and respiratory health. It also enables a less stressful trip for those who do needs to drive.

Using public transport also encourages more movement in a day, as people typically have short distance to walk on either side of their trip.

Getting out of our cars and spending more time outside is a key part of the roadmap to better community health. We need to see our governments and councils implementing further systems that not only enable active options for communities but encourages their uptake.

Expanding the 50c fare program to maintain low public transport fees would be a great start, but our communities need more than a financial incentive to change their routine and leave their car at home.

Our communities need a variety of options that work for their unique lifestyle and health needs. This could be achieved by building better footpaths and cycle ways, extending active travel options beyond public transport.

Improving Queensland’s public transport infrastructure is a beast of its own, but from a health and environmental perspective, reducing the economic barrier to access is a great place to start.

The myriads of benefits for preventive health are clear and AMA Queensland and the CSWG are seeking further collaboration with other health agencies and government bodies to keep the progress in motion.

AMA Queensland was proud to join with Queensland Health in August to hold a Sustainable Healthcare Leadership Summit to provide information on key climate change and sustainability concepts.

There are so many passionate clinicians working within Queensland Health who are already reducing their carbon footprint by making simple changes to their own work habits.

The Summit gave them an opportunity to promote sustainability initiatives currently in action to Hospital and Health Service Board Chairs and other senior executives.

These practitioners also showed how sustainability changes, even simple ones like switching to LED lighting, usually result in significant cost savings to hospitals that can be reinvested into the system.

We now need to see HHS executives respond with focus and a sense of urgency to fund and implement those and other sustainability measures across the entire health system.