Spotlighting the champions making sustainability part of everyday care.
For Dr Salim Memon, sustainability in health care means smarter systems, safer care and everyday digital habits that reduce waste. A senior clinician and leader in digital transformation at Gold Coast Health, he’s driving innovations like virtual inpatient care and e-prescribing while also championing simple changes, from switching off monitors to cutting duplicate tests, that add up to big impact.
To start us off, can you tell us about your role at Gold Coast Health
I’m a Senior Staff Specialist in General Medicine and the Medical Director for Digital Transformation and Research at Gold Coast Health.
In this dual role, I combine patient care, teaching, research and leadership – reimagining services, influencing policy and leading digital innovations that deliver patient-centred improvements across the health service.
Day-to-day that looks like ward rounds and clinical work, plus leading projects that digitise workflows, evaluate new models of care and support teams to deliver better, more efficient care.
What does sustainability look like in your day-to-day?
For me, sustainability is about ensuring the care we deliver today doesn’t compromise the ability to deliver care tomorrow.
In the ward, this translates to using resources wisely, reducing unnecessary investigations and supporting safe transitions of care to avoid re-admissions.
In my digital transformation role, sustainability is about building systems that are scalable, reduce duplication and make care more efficient. Outside of work, it’s about simple habits like reducing waste, mindful energy use and choosing active transport when I can.
Can you share a sustainability project or initiative you’re particularly proud of?
One that stands out is our trio of innovations: the Virtual Inpatient Program, electronic prescribing and remote patient monitoring.
These innovations not only improve patient experience and outcomes but also reduce the need for hospital bed days, travel and resource consumption.
By leveraging technology, we’ve created care pathways that are more efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly.
What’s been one of the biggest challenges in improving sustainability in a health care setting and how have you tackled it?
A significant hurdle has been aligning urgent clinical demands with long-term sustainability goals – health care inherently prioritises the now, making systemic and preventive change harder to embed.
My approach? I weave sustainability into projects that already deliver clear clinical and operational wins. For example, using digital tools that improve patient safety while reducing duplicate tests ensures sustainability becomes a natural by-product of good practice, not an added burden.
How do you engage your team in sustainable thinking?
I engage clinical and non-clinical colleagues by linking sustainability to things they care about: patient outcomes, safety and workload. Highlighting how sustainable practices also improve patient care and staff wellbeing creates a good discussion as well.
For example, cutting redundant tests doesn’t just save costs or resources, it means fewer invasive procedures and a better patient journey. I also invite colleagues to share even the smallest ideas that make our work smarter, safer and cleaner. Celebrating these contributions helps build collective, proactive momentum.
What’s your vision for a more sustainable health service?
I envision a health system that’s digitally powered, prevention-focused and environmentally conscious – delivering the right care, at the right time and place, underpinned by data-driven continuous improvement.
This would mean a sustained focus on:
- Embedding sustainability into every service redesign project
- Focusing on high-value care – reducing tests and treatments that don’t add benefit
- Expanding virtual and community-based care options
- Encouraging culture change through leadership and visible role modelling.
What small steps do you think we can take now to get there?
Some immediate, practical steps we can take include:
- Practising digital sustainability – simple habits like turning monitors off instead of letting screen savers run, avoiding unnecessary storage of large or duplicate files and choosing paper-free options such as OneNote.
- Collaborating smarter – using SharePoint as a single point of saving and collaboration (instead of multiple servers or network drives), returning unused equipment and providing staff with myth-busting guidance and best practice for setting up sites and document areas.
- Managing digital footprints – adopting a mindful approach to when and how Teams video recordings are stored, so large data files aren’t retained for decades and working with cyber teams to embed secure storage practices into daily routines.
- Embedding sustainability upfront – requiring a sustainability section in every business case and project brief, so environmental impact is considered alongside safety and cost.
- Scaling smart care options – expanding telehealth, virtual inpatient care and remote monitoring where clinically appropriate, to reduce travel and hospital bed use.
- Targeting quick wins – introducing medication and resource stewardship audits to identify low-value practices, cut waste and improve outcomes.
- Making procurement and training count – aligning purchasing with sustainability criteria and strengthening staff education to ensure change is practical, measurable and long-lasting.
