Download Population Growth - Sustainable Development Unit

Population growth and a sustainable NHS
The NHS aims to deliver high quality healthcare for all. In order to do this
sustainably, it is important for the NHS to be clear about its responsibility to ensure
that maintaining and improving the health of today’s population is not done in a way
that prejudices our ability to deliver care and promote health tomorrow.
Central to this approach involves living within environmental, social and financial
limits. One important part of this approach is to address our responsibility not to
increase the population of the society in which we live beyond the limits of what we
can support with the resources available. We strive to ensure that every pregnancy
is a wanted pregnancy. We should aim for an average family size such that the total
population size does not exceed the available resources, both now and in the future.
We should enable and encourage this for the health of citizens in this country and to
set an example for others. The NHS cannot and should not prescribe family size.
However, it should make clear through its policies and actions that population size is
a crucial determinant of our ability to maintain health for all, now, and in the future.
“We must not put pressure on people, but by providing information on the population
and the environment, and appropriate contraception for everyone (and by their own
example), doctors (and other health care professionals) should help to bring family
size into the arena of environmental ethics.”1
Reference List
1. Guillebaud J., Hayes P. Population growth and climate change. BMJ 2008;337.
May 24th, 2011
Notes: This statement represents the latest evidence and its implications for the
NHS in England. It is made by the NHS SDU with the help of partner and
stakeholder organisations. If you believe this statement can be made more helpful,
then we would welcome your contribution.
The NHS Sustainable Development Unit (England) helps the NHS fulfil its potential
as a leading sustainable and low carbon healthcare service. We do this by
developing organisations, people, tools, policy and research which will enable the
NHS to promote sustainable development and mitigate climate change.
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www.sdu.nhs.uk