{"id":174061,"date":"2025-06-10T22:28:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T22:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/174061\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T22:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T22:28:11","slug":"climate-change-greatest-threat-to-public-health-this-century-chief-medic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/174061\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change greatest threat to public health this century \u2013 chief medic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution are the great threats to human health this century, Scotland\u2019s chief medical officer has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his annual report, Professor Sir Gregor Smith said the \u201ctriple planetary health crisis\u201d amounted to a public health emergency.<\/p>\n

He said the global healthcare system itself was \u201csubstantially\u201d contributing to the problem, producing around 5% of the world\u2019s emissions.<\/p>\n

Calling for urgent action on the issue, Sir Gregor said: \u201cJust as we as individuals do not exist in isolation, human and planetary health are intertwined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are part of an interconnected ecosystem and whether it be new approaches to sustainable agriculture, materials or healthcare, this innovation is well established across Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more we can do in areas such as sustainable diets to prevent ill health, reduce pressure on our health services and reduce our impact on the natural world.<\/p>\n

\u201cShifting towards sustainable, healthy diets and cutting food waste are key opportunities for reducing emissions and pressure on nature, in Scotland and overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can go hand in hand with improving our health and easing pressure on our NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cRestoring and strengthening that connection between ourselves and the planet need not be seen as a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the future health of both, it is part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The health expert described Scotland\u2019s natural environment as an \u201cinvaluable resource\u201d to improve the health of its people, as well as the wider planet.<\/p>\n

In his report, the chief medical officer also warned that the focus on finding efficiencies in the healthcare could lead to worse outcomes for Scots.<\/p>\n

He said he was \u201cconcerned\u201d that \u201cif we apply this lens of efficiency inappropriately to all aspects of healthcare, we may lose that vital connection and provide sub-optimal, transactional, industrialised care instead\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThere is a very real risk that this loss of connection will prevent us from seeing the people we care for as they wish to be seen and understanding what matters to them. It is this transactional approach to care that can lead to overtreatment, potential harm, wasted resources and to decision regret.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking to the future, Sir Gregor said artificial intelligence (AI) would begin to play a \u201csignificant\u201d role in the NHS \u201cin the very near future\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he said that AI could not replace the \u201cwisdom\u201d of healthcare professionals, while stressing the importance of human connection in healthcare.<\/p>\n

The chief medical officer said Scotland\u2019s healthcare system, and wider society, must urgently prioritise preventing disease, rather than treating it once it happens.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf we are to address the health challenges that lie ahead, it is not only our health and care system that must have a greater focus on prevention, but all parts of society, including national and local government, public services and the voluntary and commercial sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remain optimistic that the forthcoming Population Health Framework will provide this much-needed focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can support the people we care for to be healthier for longer, significant improvements in their health could be achieved, allowing them to experience life, contribute to their families and communities and remain economically active for longer too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution are the great threats to human health this century, Scotland\u2019s chief…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4316],"tags":[105,4348,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-174061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114661432023145796","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}