The healthcare sector has a unique healing mission, yet hospitals are key point sources for specialised pharmaceutical residues entering the environment, a serious source of pollution that can threaten ecosystems and the environment, as well as drive the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a rising threat to public health threat.

Our latest publication, Pharmaceutical residues in hospital wastewater, explores how hospital wastewater contributes to the pharmaceutical load released into the environment.

The report features five case studies illustrating how European hospitals, from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, are dealing with pharmaceutical residues in their wastewater. It also looks at resistant bacteria because of their potential link with antibiotic residues in hospital effluents.

Based on the featured case studies, the report concludes with five recommendations for hospitals to develop strategies to tackle the issue of pharmaceutical residues in their wastewater.