The OHBP has featured in Healthcare Without Harm’s (HCWH) blog “Hospitals can play a leading role in reducing pharmaceutical pollution”, published by Jean-Yves Stenuick (HCWH Europe, Safer Pharma Programme Manager).
The blog promotes HCWH’s latest report on pharmaceutical residues in hospital wastewater (find out more here), and highlights the case study on Caithness General Hospital. Hospitals are key points of pharmaceutical use and disposal, and are significant contributors of particularly high concentrations of specialised pharmaceuticals such as cytostatic drugs, some antibiotics, and X-ray contrast agents in municipal waterways. As key players in the pharmaceutical value chain, hospitals have a responsibility to take the lead in mitigating pharmaceutical emissions to aquatic ecosystems.
Click here to read more.
HCWH played a key role in the formation of the OHBP, following an event in Inverness (Scottish Highlands) in 2017. Together with NHS Highland and Highland and Islands Enterprise, HCWH co-organised a multi-stakeholder workshop on emerging contaminants. Sharon Pfleger, consultant at NHS Highland and co-founder of the OHBP, said:
“This workshop was the catalyst in enabling people to consider how best we could get a win-win approach for this issue. The knowledge and leadership of HCWH Europe was instrumental in helping us to focus on water and pharmaceuticals and ultimately led to key partners locally realising that we were stronger together.”
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