You can access the Heidelberg heat table at www.dosing.de > Heat waves > Overview tables
Questions and answers about heat waves can be found at the Federal Ministry of Health.
DGG Sustainability Concept
In 2021, the DGG adopted a sustainability concept. Since then, we have been increasingly addressing these issues and founded the Climate and Vascular Health Commission in 2023. At the commission's suggestion, the board updated the concept in April 2024. Here you can find the updated DGG sustainability concept, which serves as a guideline for our work. The more members who participate, the better it is for the climate.
Information from the Climate and Vascular Health Commission
Here, the Climate and Vascular Health Commission provides information that may be useful to colleagues in vascular surgery.
Medication & Heat
Heidelberg Heat Table: Effects of Medication on Temperature and Volume Regulation in Patients
High temperatures and heat waves pose an increased health risk, especially for older people. Some medications are discussed as causal factors. Specific pharmacological recommendations for minimising risk during heat waves can be found in the Heidelberg Heat Table. This table summarises medications with a potential influence on temperature regulation and volume status in patients during heat waves.
Links & Sources
Heat Protection Plans for Hospitals and Outpatient Clinics
Vascular specialists call for heat protection plans in hospitals and medical practices. A model heat protection plan for hospitals was published by the German government in 2024.
Sample heat protection plan for hospitals and sample heat protection plan for outpatient practices, published by the Berlin State Medical Association, the German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG) and the Berlin Senate Department for Science, Health, Care and Equality.
Waste Separation in Hospitals
Overview: Guideline M18 of the German Working Group on Waste Management (LAGA) provides a valuable overview of the safe and legally compliant disposal of hospital waste.
Successful concepts/implementations: Sustainability, climate protection and resource conservation have become key issues at Bonn University Hospital.
Media: Tagesschau 16.11.2023: What hospitals can do about waste. Bonn University Hospital shows how things can be done differently – and that more recycling even saves money.
Detailed information on waste disposal in hospitals
Colour coding systems for containers in hospitals: There is no standard colour coding system for all medical facilities. Hospitals can decide for themselves which colours to use and how extensively they want to implement such a system, and order the corresponding coloured containers from their waste disposal company. This can be advantageous for workflows within a hospital (https://www.abfallmanager-medizin.de).