Healthcare is remarkably overrepresented in Australia\u2019s total carbon footprint breakdown, which puts anaesthetists in a unique position to help reduce emissions \u2013 precisely what Dr Scott Ma (BMedSc \u201902, BM, BS(GradEntry) \u201905) set out to do when pushing for a review on the gases used in anaesthetic practice.<\/p>\n
Dr Ma, the Deputy Medical Unit Head of the Department of Children\u2019s Anaesthesia at the Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital, has been instrumental in discontinuing the use of desflurane \u2013 an anaesthetic gas which, in an hour of use, produces the equivalent greenhouse gas of driving a car 300km. By comparison, the safe and effective alternative put in place would be equivalent to just 7km.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor healthcare as a whole, we have an opportunity to identify ways to reduce low-value care,\u201d Dr Ma says.<\/p>\n
\u201cSubstantial carbon and financial savings could be achieved by omitting unnecessary pathology tests, without any detriment to health.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust this alone is estimated to reduce Australia\u2019s emissions by over 8000 kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in one year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healthcare waste is also seen as significant problem. The use of single-use products results in the considerable costs associated with raw material extraction, production\/manufacturing, transportation and disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cA return to reusable products, where it is safe to do so, and advocating for more circular economies, can assist healthcare in reducing its environmental (and financial) impact,\u201d says Dr Ma.<\/p>\n
Dr Ma\u2019s interest in anaesthesia stemmed from a rural selective while he was a final year medical student, completing a six-week term in anaesthesia at Mt Gambier Hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnaesthetising children comes with the added challenge of establishing trust of families,\u201d Dr Ma says.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents and caregivers need to feel that their child will be in safe hands when they are undergoing an operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a privilege to have families entrust me with the care of their child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Ma completed a fellowship in paediatric anaesthesia and pain management at the Royal Children\u2019s Hospital, Melbourne. He returned to Adelaide as a consultant anaesthetist at Flinders Medical Centre which he commenced in 2013. He has been a consultant paediatric anaesthetist at the Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital since 2014.<\/p>\n
Dr Ma continues to take an interest in supporting the profession\u2019s effort to be environmentally sustainable, something he champions in his role of Councillor (board director) for the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and chair of the ANZCA Environmental Sustainability Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedicine is a rewarding career and it will take you on a journey to places you may not ever consider,\u201d says Dr Ma.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the opportunity to challenge yourself. See your failures as opportunities to grow and remember the reasons that drew you to medicine in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n