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Australia’s health system will be better equipped to deal with the challenges of climate change, with the Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) providing new national guidance, local data and practical tools to help organisations assess and manage climate-related risks and undertake adaptation planning.
Climate change has major impacts on health systems and our health and wellbeing, and these impacts compound, causing significant strain on health system organisations, infrastructure and workforce capacity.
A heatwave leads to more people presenting to hospital, while at the same time stretching the hospital’s cooling systems and staff capacity. A flood displaces communities and contaminates water supplies, while also disrupting transport routes and access to healthcare facilities.
The CDC’s new resources include a manual, local climate and health data, and practical planning templates. They were launched today by the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Rebecca White MP, at the Climate and Health Alliance Leaders Summit at Parliament House.
CDC Director-General Professor Zoe Wainer said that understanding and managing climate-related risks is critical to maintaining safe, reliable and responsive health and aged care services.
“These resources provide an evidence-informed, step-by-step framework to help health system organisations assess and address risks that might affect the delivery of services, their infrastructure or assets, and population health.”
With these tools, organisations like hospitals, residential aged care providers, local health networks, Primary Health Networks, Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services and others can develop robust, locally appropriate plans to strengthen their resilience to climate-related impacts.
“I urge all health system stakeholders to make full use of this guidance. With proactive planning, open dialogue and a commitment to continuous improvement, we can strengthen our collective resilience to minimise disruption, and continue to deliver quality care in a changing climate. Let this guidance be a cornerstone for our shared journey towards a healthier, more sustainable future for all Australians in the face of climate risk,” Dr Wainer said.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister White:
“Consistent, evidence‑informed climate risk assessment is essential for protecting communities and supporting safe, reliable health system organisations in a changing climate.
“Using these resources can help strengthen service continuity, reduce climate‑related disruptions and support the long‑term resilience of health system organisations.
“This guidance will help to build a stronger health system and protect the health and wellbeing of Australians from the impacts of climate change.
“Climate change has major impacts on human health and wellbeing, and on health systems.
“This guidance provides health system organisations the tools they need to identify, understand and manage climate-related risks within their organisation.
“They deliver a key commitment under the National Health and Climate Strategy, supporting progress towards a climate‑resilient health system.”
Quote attributable to Wayne Champion PSM, Chief Executive Officer of Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network:
“We welcome the release of this national guidance on climate risk assessment and adaptation planning. The guidelines and templates enabled us to efficiently and systematically identify climate hazards, map our vulnerabilities, and develop appropriate adaptation responses. As climate hazards intensify, understanding these risks to our infrastructure, workforce, and service delivery is essential to maintaining health system resilience, and this guidance provides the framework for action.”
Quotes attributable to Catelyn Richards, Federal Assistant Secretary of the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation (ANMF):
“Frontline nurses, midwives and carers witness first-hand, the direct impacts of climate change in communities across the country.
“Up until now, health and aged care facilities and regional networks have lacked actionable guidance to systematically plan for these evolving risks from climate change at the local level. This guidance will help to empower our local health and aged care networks to undertake pro-active, long-term planning for climate change.
“The ANMF looks forward to working with the Australian CDC and all stakeholders to help ensure that Australia’s health and aged care systems are well-prepared and can remain safe, resilient and operational in a changing climate.”