The healthcare sector faces considerable challenges. Challenges in collaboration, ICT solutions, technology, sustainability and much more. That is why we organised this year's Dutch Health Week. This vibrant five-day event was all about sharing knowledge, inspiring each other, collaborating, innovating and doing business. A major recurring theme this week? Sustainable care.
The Dutch Health Hub brought the three fairs (Zorg & ICT, Zorgtotaal and Support) together in one week. The Hub, Jaarbeurs 's knowledge platform for health, care and life sciences also provided a three-day programme in the Arena. The ultimate goal? Better, accessible, affordable and sustainable care.
Healthcare is a highly environmentally damaging, unsustainable industry. About 7% of the total carbon footprint in the Netherlands comes from this sector. Surface water contains medicine residues, healthcare institutions use a lot of grey energy and buildings are no longer adequate. Employees are hard to find and many of them leave within two years because of too high a workload and/or too little appreciation. This could and should be better. It is not sustainable. The way we provide and obtain care now is not sustainable for the future.
A sustainable ambition
The subject of sustainability is deeply rooted within Jaarbeurs. Because only when we switch from thinking to doing, do we make movement. Our ambition is clear: we want to become Europe's most sustainable conference and event location. We also want to show that there are good solutions in many sectors to do business and live more sustainably. One such way is by hosting the most important events and congresses in the field of sustainability. We want to demonstrably help drive and accelerate sustainability ambitions. So we not only rent out our venue, we actively create relevant content ourselves. And this is reflected in our content programming and activities. One of the themes in the Dutch Health Hub Arena was 'Working together on sustainable care'.
Keynotes, workshops and round table discussions
During this Dutch Health Week, several sustainable topics took centre stage. For instance, we programme interesting keynotes and inspiring sessions. Moreover, dozens of speakers shared their views on the future of healthcare. A sustainable personnel policy, for instance; how do we ensure that nurses do not leave after only two years? Or the circular construction of a healthcare institution; what do you need and how can you achieve this? How can we be smart about waste, and are so many items really needed for an operation or delivery?
From waste to inspiration
Someone who makes the incredible waste in healthcare visible is Maria Koijck. She talked about it during her opening session 'Sustainable care' at the Arena. Koijck is an artist and went viral last year with her video about the mountain of waste left after her breast cancer surgery. Before the operation, she asked if she could keep all the waste. Six full rubbish bags were next to her bed when she woke up. Recently, she completed new videos again. In 'Look at me', she shows the waste from an average cataract surgery. In 'My first little footprint', she shows the waste from a normal hospital birth; three full rubbish bags. During her session, Koijck showed how rubbish is created during a medical procedure and encouraged people to do things differently.
Health Angels assess sustainable initiatives
Another part of Health Week was the Health Angels session at the Arena. Here, healthcare innovators could pitch their sustainable business plans in a Dragon's Den. The so-called Health Angels (investors and experts) judged the healthcare concepts on, for example, financial readiness, Go to market status, innovative factor and sustainability content. The best candidates were rewarded with a financial boost, knowledge or access to influential networks.
Case study theatre
At Zorgtotaal and Care & ICT, there were Case Study Theatres. Here, several exhibitors gave short sessions to visitors. They showed what possibilities and solutions (could) exist and what technologies are involved. They also told what ideas they have that contribute to sustainable and future-proof care.
Successful first live edition
Tens of thousands of visitors, dozens of speakers, hundreds of exhibitors and a huge number of inspiring moments. If we all put our minds to it, we can achieve so much together - as this fantastic week has shown. Fortunately, it doesn't stop here. In fact, the next edition is already planned for June 2023. Moreover, the Dutch Health Hub will be on the air throughout the year with master classes, workshops, tips, opinion articles, issues and other news related to digitalising, innovating, leading, organising, making sustainable, vitalising and working.
