Carthey, J; Chandra, V and Loosemore, M (2008) Assessing the adaptive capacity of hospital facilities to cope with climate-related extreme weather events: A risk management approach. In: Dainty, A (ed.) Proceedings of 24th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2008, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract
There is incontrovertible evidence that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and that this is likely to be associated with an increasing number of extreme weather events. Recent examples from around the world highlight the vulnerability of health facilities and the need to ensure that they support rather than hinder health care delivery during such events. A risk management study conducted in early 2007 for NSW Health attempted to define the extent of the problem and the adaptive strategies that should be adopted to minimise the risk of health infrastructure failing. The need for a systems approach was identified, although it was subsequently agreed that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to support the development of specific, well-defined strategies for adaptation. In particular, the impact of climate change-related extreme weather events on health service needs has not yet been accurately determined for the Australian context, nor has the adaptive capacity of existing infrastructure been adequately assessed in terms of its ability to cater for the additional demands likely to be placed upon it. It was agreed that further research is needed in a number of areas and that working within existing asset and disaster management frameworks is necessary for the development of health infrastructure with sufficient and appropriate adaptive capacity.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | asset management; climate change; extreme weather events; hospitals; risk management |
| Index terms: | risk management, climate change, health facility, strategy, adaptive capacity, hospital facility, adaptation, evidence, disaster management, health service, extreme weather event, vulnerability, asset management, health care |
| Subjects: | financial risk, management, user focus, evaluation and assessment methods, risk assessment, environmental hazards, construction type, climate science, public and environmental health, asset management, urban design |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Design Practice, Research Practice, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here