The BMJ is to be congratulated on repeatedly returning to the topic of measures to combat climate change, and encouraging doctors to take an interest in the issues.1 Preventing unnecessary fuel usage is important not only in combating global warming but it also leads to financial gains.
On 28 February I paid a visit to a local general hospital (500 beds plus) to count the number of open windows in all areas—there were 358. The building is some 30 years old. Most of the original windows were replaced with double glazed ones some years ago. I have difficulty working out how effective the double glazing is when the windows are open.
On Good Friday (21 March) I visited a friend in a surgical block at another hospital—on one face of the block I counted 40 open windows. At yet another hospital on Easter Monday, a particularly chilly day, there were 208 open windows—some were high up in corridors, and I suspect that they had been open for years.
In hospitals there are various lightly clad occupants who may find the ambient temperature oppressive, as may well clad visitors—so windows get opened. Windows are also opened to clear unpleasant smells. Domestics staff need to dry off wet mopped surfaces. People who open windows rarely close them—it is no one’s job; someone else is paying the heating bill; “fresh air is good for you”—and (as with shops with open doors) the system simply belches out more heat, so no one feels cold.
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Godlee F. Climate change: permission to act. Editor’s choice. BMJ 2008;336:0 (26 January.) doi:10.1136/bmj.39469.569815.47 [Google Scholar]