An ethical investigation into environmental sustainability in healthcare.

The aim of healthcare is to improve and sustain the health of society. However, healthcare as an industry is one of the most environmentally destructive on earth. For example, in the UK there is an estimated 40000 air pollution related deaths each year. The environmental impact of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is directly at odds with its goal of keeping the population healthy. In this project I address the following problem: what is the most ethical way to make medical decisions that involve accounting for the care of patients and the environment. I plan to investigate how we should ethically account for our decision-making in relation to the administration of medical treatments, the production of medical waste (physical and gas emissions) and remote treatment. The intended impact is to provide guidance to the NHS (and healthcare more broadly) on the most ethical approach to sustainability.