Monitors beep, jumbled over the loud cries from children that echo down the bustling corridor. It’s another busy day in the emergency department. My colleagues and I move quickly amongst the organised chaos and prioritise those with the highest needs. Yet, there’s something different. The air outside is smoky and the sky, an orange haze. Children with respiratory conditions are seeking comfort in tired parent’s laps, on hard plastic chairs in the emergency department corridor. One child nestles their face into their parent’s arms, their breathing is fast, an audible wheeze is heard. Bed spaces are in critical supply and the hospital is at capacity.

Rewind back to 2019-2020 during the Black Summer bushfires, and here we have a story about the vulnerability of our communities, our healthcare system and our environment. This complex interconnectedness is quite often dismissed, until an extreme event is right at our doorstep and directly impacting our lives. This is when ‘the story’ can become a vital part of our toolkit to start a conversation.

Stories are an essential part of all of us, from the rich and deeply connected story told through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander generations, to stories told at milestone events and celebrations, of personal loss, hardship and joy. Our stories shape who we are, what we value, how we connect and form relationships, and they can drive us towards a shared goal.¹ As healthcare professionals we have a unique opportunity to advocate for the health of our patients, our community and our planet. We all have a story and it’s an important one.

This period of my career has been a huge wakeup call helping me to recognise that the health of our patient’s, families, communities and our own health will directly be affected by the impacts of climate change. This is a big story, and one we collectively share.

We can all be storytellers and start the conversation. We can leverage our stories to share how climate change has impacted us, to connect, be creative and spark action. Our stories can change the way we deliver healthcare, our models of care, how we can care for our finite resources and reduce waste in its many forms.² Our stories can drive us towards a shared vision of providing high-value, low carbon, sustainable healthcare in our ever-changing climate-sensitive world.

Together we can provide better health for everyone, our planet and our future.

What is my story, and how can I start the conversation?

Karlie Proctor is an Environmental Sustainability Officer with NSW Health and has 20 years experience in dynamic healthcare settings primarily in emergency care and paediatrics. Karlie’s professional story has been a journey through working interstate in the Northern Territory as a remote area nurse, far north Queensland and internationally in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and most recently in Sierra Leone with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) during the COVID pandemic.

References

1. Espedal G, Synnes O. A Narrative Approach to Exploring Values in Organisations. In: Espedal G, Jelstad Løvaas B, Sirris S, Wæraas A, editors. Researching Values: Methodological Approaches for Understanding Values Work in Organisations and Leadership. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2022. p. 189-204.
2. Barratt AL, Bell KJ, Charlesworth K, McGain F. High value health care is low carbon health care. The Medical Journal of Australia. 2022;216(2):67.