Hospitals as Ecological Actors: Evaluating Environmental Responsibility and Ethical Accountability in Nigerian Healthcare

Abstract

This article explores how healthcare institutions significantly harm the environment, from their paradoxical role as healing institutions to their status as environmental enemies, with a special focus on healthcare institutions in Nigeria. The research methodology adopted in this article is a qualitative case study, aimed at evaluating how hospitals operate as ecological actors through decisions, technologies, and management practices that influence ecosystems and public health. Findings highlighted some of the activities of healthcare institutions that have a negative impact on the environment, including poor medical waste disposal, contamination from pharmaceutical use, energy dependency, and water use. This study made use of multiple data sources from documents, interviews, and observation in exploring three case studies of Nigerian hospitals that have adopted some ecological approaches in their operation, and their benefits. The study concluded that healthcare institutions in Nigeria have the moral responsibility to go green by prioritising environmental sustainability in their procedures and practices. This will be possible if the healthcare institutions are willing to embrace the moral and ecological path of reforming energy policies, adopting sustainable designs, implementing effective recycling programs, and educating staff on the value of protecting the environment.