UEHP is resolutely focused on the future. We are committed to "Smart Hospitals", quality for the patient, free access for European citizens, but also to the respect of the environment.

Sustainable development is a priority: all managers and health professionals should be encouraged to follow these principles, respectful of the present and the future. The issues are many: building construction, control of flows, potentially toxic waste, waste sorting (as evidenced by our participation in the European Waste Management programme), but also the conditioning and distribution circuit of health products.

The coordination of all stakeholders is the key to success. In Brussels, this ambition is shared by many of our interlocutors. But it is clear that nothing can be done without our participation: it is the stakeholders in the field who can guarantee the practical success of Community principles. We are a concrete Europe, one of achievements!

Private hospitals are a support for these programmes - so many professionals dedicate themselves to sustainable development and to respecting the environment in our institutions - but they also contribute to the dissemination of these achievements. We are the relay of these European skills which go beyond borders, enriching each other through the exchange of relevant solutions.

Sustainability includes long term engagement not only for ecology but for economy too, with relevant managerial solutions. A new European society is on the move, mixing human being responsibility and organisation performance.

This Newsletter is merely a brief summary of experiences in some Member States for the benefit of all. Our place is once again to be the "broker" of information for a real and concrete Europe, one of action and success at the service of the environment

Environmental issues do have no borders. Sustainable development becomes the focus of health policies in many European countries, this is the major challenge for the 21st century. Many national initiatives have emerged during the last ten years, encouraging audacious and innovative sustainable development dynamics in hospitals. Here are a few organisations and initiatives among UEHP member states.

The foundation ViaMedica aims to work on hospital ecology, hygiene, climate change and sustainable pharmaceuticals. Its latest projects focus on climate manager training in hospital, energy savings with waste heat recovery systems, hospital hygiene and the place of cleaning personal in hospital.

http://www.viamedica-stiftung.de/home/

One of the most effective actions has been the insulation of the facade and the flat roof of the main building, which has lead to 50% energy saving for this building. The installation of a wood pellet plant which covers about 70% of the eating needs helps the clinic to be CO2 neutral. The photovoltaic systems on the roof produces energy, which is resold to an energy provider but the clinic plans to install another photovoltaic system to produce its own electricity. The switch to LED light bulbs and the installation of movement detectors belongs to the measures, which have positively weighted on the electricity bill.

According to Sven Wahl, CEO, “Sustainability is first of all a social responsibility question. The return of investment is globally 10 years, 2 years for the lightnings as we have been subsidised. Our new buildings are eco-constructed, we pay a great attention to the eco-quality of the chosen material. We hope to be able to drive ‛clean’ soon with the purchase of an electric car.“

It combines modern and elegant design, high-quality materials, intelligent lighting and acoustic concepts, an atmosphere of well-being and patient friendly barrier-free accessibility, barrier-free designer bathroom, as well as the highest hygienic requirements and optimal conditions for medical and health care delivery. Digitally interconnected, the ROOM 2525® offers quite new possibilities to integrate solutions in the field of hospital treatment and care, like telemedicine. From the light control to the air conditioning and on to communication: intelligent technology facilitates the patients’ everyday life in the clinic.

“During a clinic stay, the patients want to be accommodated in a professional and competent environment, which supports their emotional and physical well-being at the same time. Comfort, security, individuality, protection of privacy and services one knows from the hotel sector are becoming more and more important. This also contributes to a faster and, in the end, better recovery“, according to Dr. Wolfgang Sittel, head of the architecture and construction division of the Asklepios group.

The building is Minergie labelled, a label focused on energy performance, and solar panels have been placed on the roof. The clinic also works on the management of its waste, in particular the problems of paper consumption and recycling, as well as nutrition and the fight against food waste. Of course, the CSR programme also includes a section for employees with physical activity and relaxation sessions proposed by the management and to combine pleasure with practicality, hives have been installed in the park of the clinic, Biodiversity being an integral part of the reflection and concerns of the teams.

As the only establishment in France to be simultaneously certified ISO 14001 and registered with EMAS, the Pasteur Clinic, which prepares ISO 26000 acknowledgement programme, works on all registers and was able to develop over the years a corporate culture that is 'binding', people oriented, focused on patients and employees well-being and health. Numerous projects have been accomplished: pedagogic programmes in schools, roof garden and gardening club, nutritional quality of meals, labelling of purchased ingredients and dietary support, low carbon menus, campaign against endocrine disruptors and against noise, recycling of precious metal, free sport sessions for employees and patients, support for smoking cessation, professional integration, concierge, solidarity events, computer workshops, internal social network, start-up acceptance, exhibitions, etc.

As part of the 2017 European Sustainable Development Week, 100 000 low carbon meals will be cooked in a single day in the hospitals and collectivities of the Grand Toulouse.

Other exemplary private hospitals recognised for their work on sustainability: The Saint Roch and Clementville Clinics in Montpellier belonging to the OC Santé Group headed by Max Ponseillé. They have just renewed their registration for the next 3 years and are among the less than ten private, private non profit and public hospitals in France, which are EMAS registered.

In France, clinics and hospitals buy each year products and services for an amount of 18 billion Euros (40% of their budget). Sales are one of the governing principles of a comprehensive green approach.

In November 2015, CAHPP launched a survey among its 172 medical devices suppliers to know the level of DEHP and ethylene oxide contained in the products listed. 66 suppliers answered the survey, 42 provided transparent information, 24 declared to wait for information from their sub-contractors, 106 did not answer!

The study is still ongoing. According to CAHPP “It is urgent that the manufacturers provide the necessary transparency. CAHPP will not let go of this subject. We have to make the market more responsible.“

The five chefs at the centre have all been traditionally trained as cooks, a skill they practice today in collective catering. "The term collective cooking should not be viewed in a pejorative way. We cook 350 meals a day, but for us, quality is paramount and we bring a lot of fancy in the processing of food and in the composition of menus." With sea views, the meals have a holiday flavour!

The European programme Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) provides a framework for voluntary eco-management initiatives. Since 2010, the ISO 26000 standard provides a guidance on social responsibility and is by far the most ambitious programme hospitals can choose.

Spanish hospitals have very soon been pioneers in terms of environmental management systems (EMS). Those EMS, which can lead to a certification (CEMS) are also linked to the “general system of environmental management” of some Spanish Autonomous Communities, so that Spanish hospitals which commit to a global EMS, also take into account quality, risk prevention and the environment.

A recent report published by the University of Valencia and two other organisations* called “Introduction of voluntary environmental management systems into the Spanish hospital network: current state (2015)” provides an overview about the implementation of environmental management systems (CEMS) in Spanish hospitals : “We found that 18.9 % of hospitals had CEMS (ISO 14001 in all cases): 149 out of 787 hospitals, in the National Hospitals Catalogue, especially in Madrid (40) and Andalusia (37). Eighty-one of the certified hospitals are private. Only 23 had EMAS: 12 are public and 11 private. ”

An other study published in 2016 by Nefrologia**, the Spanish society on Nephrology, reveals that “Of the 210 hospitals with a dialysis unit (all status), 53 (25%) have the ISO 14001 and 15 of these also have an EMAS. This constitutes 30% of all hospital dialysis chairs in Spain: 1,291 (of 4,298). Only 11 outpatient clinics are recorded, all with the ISO 14001. ”

The phthalates contained in the blood bags dissociate from the plastic and migrate into the body during transfusion. The amount released depends on storage time, temperature, lipid concentration, etc. Also, as the project progressed, polyolefin plastic films were produced and a first prototype blood bag was recently tested at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.

The first results are promising, PVC-free blood bags do exist, but additional tests will have to be carried out to find the best additive, the two tested do not fulfil their mission to keep the red blood cells up to 42 days.

The other challenge for the lead organization will be to support the demand for PVC-free blood bags after the pilot phase. "We need the support of organizations and associations and all stakeholders involved in health to promote this new technology, which we believe is important in advancing sustainable health for patients," said Lena Stigh, Project Leader. "A clear and sustained demand from healthcare institutions for PVC-free blood bags would greatly facilitate the issue of large-scale production and marketing. On the other hand, an evolution of legislation at European level on endocrine disrupters, that is to say their phasing-out in medical devices, is likely to favour the marketing of PVC-free blood bags."

It should be noted that until now, none of the many projects initiated in Europe and the United States have succeeded in eliminating PVC blood bags.

http://www.pvcfreebloodbag.eu/