By Fiona Garín McDonagh, VP Strategic Marketing, BD EMEA, Extracts from a presentation given at the first evidence session in the Policy Connect inquiry series ‘A Sustainable Health Footprint’, hosted in the House of Lords in July 2025.
What does sustainable healthcare really mean, not just for our planet, but for the people who deliver and receive care every day?
Too often, sustainability is seen only through an environmental lens. While reducing carbon emissions and medical waste is critical, a truly sustainable healthcare system must also be efficient, adaptable, and capable of delivering high-quality care today while being ready for the demands of tomorrow.
In a time when governments across Europe are diverting funding toward defence and security, we must urgently ask: how do we protect and strengthen the healthcare systems we’ve built with pride? The answer isn’t about doing more with more. It’s about doing better with what we have.
Inefficiency: the hidden cost in healthcare
Every inefficiency, every delayed discharge, duplicated test, or underused skill is a missed opportunity to care for someone in need. The OECD estimates that up to 20% of health spending adds little or no value to patient outcomes1.
Across Europe, inefficiencies are everywhere: delayed discharges due to poor coordination, underutilised operating theatres, repeat diagnostic tests from lost or mishandled samples, non-digital workflows that slow down care, and highly trained clinicians spending hours on administrative tasks.
These aren’t just operational problems; they’re barriers to better care. Tackling them isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing what matters, better.
Where waste meets inefficiency
The NHS is responsible for 5% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and clinical waste is a significant contributor. But some of the most impactful reductions in environmental footprint come from avoiding the need to manufacture in the first place.
Think of medicines that expire before use, repeat diagnostic tests caused by sample errors, or sterile kits opened but never used. Each represents waste that is avoidable, costly to the environment, and a drain on health system budgets. By addressing these inefficiencies, we can cut waste at its source, improving both sustainability and system performance.
The role of MedTech innovation
Tackling inefficiencies cannot rest solely on healthcare professionals’ shoulders. MedTech is a strategic enabler. Developing innovations that matter, be it reducing product use and waste or helping address inefficiencies through automating referrals, digitising prescriptions, integrating patient records, and streamlining workflows so clinicians can focus on what matters most: patients.
Imagine if pharmacists could reclaim even half the time they spend on non-clinical work. Or if a patient’s health history travelled with them seamlessly across providers. The result: faster, more coordinated treatment and stronger patient–care team connections.
A mindset shift
Real change begins with curiosity, not blame:
- Can we do this differently?
- Is this the best use of our people and resources?
- Are we following best practice or just habit?
Every inefficiency is an opportunity to increase capacity, alleviate burnout, enhance patient care, and reduce healthcare’s environmental footprint.
The MedTech industry, policymakers, and care providers must work together to turn everyday inefficiencies into meaningful progress. Let’s start treating inefficiency as the solvable challenge it truly is.
If we work smarter, cut waste, and embrace innovation, we can create a healthcare system that’s not just sustainable for the planet, but also for the people it serves.
1OECD (2017), Tackling Wasteful Spending on Health, OECD Publishing, Paris, Tackling Wasteful Spending on Health .
