A senior nurse has called for significant reductions in single-use items in acute care and other areas of hospitals to reduce clinical waste in the NHS.
Health leaders and policy makers met today to discuss the ‘next steps’ towards the NHS’s net zero target and how to improve the sustainability of UK healthcare.
“we [must] Get away from this stupid throwaway society.”
Claire Nash
Organized by the Westminster Health Forum and chaired by Conservative MP and former emergency physician Dr Kieran Mullan, the event will bring together a range of NHS leaders and others involved in improving health sustainability. opinions were asked.
The main focus of the forum’s events was waste reduction.
Claire Nash, a registered nurse with a background in critical care and Head of Clinical Product Management at the Black Country Alliance, spoke about the scale of single-use clinical waste across the NHS.
In particular, she pointed to the environmental impact of first aid supplies such as disposable needles, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE), couch rolls and tourniquets.
Nash said that in addition to emissions during production, these single-use items sent to landfills have a huge impact on the environment by using up materials that could be depleted over the next century.
“We have one planet, and 40% of the elements that make everything are under serious threat. That’s why we have to stop throwing things in the trash. “We have to figure out how to turn it back into something reusable, like when we were infant nurses,” she said.
Claire Nash
She called on the NHS to move to a “circular” economy, recycling and reusing materials where necessary.
“In manufacturing and raw material extraction, most of the carbon is there and we dispose of it,” she added.
“If we can keep this circulating, we’re not only keeping elements from going to landfill or being incinerated, we’re keeping those elements circulating. This has to be the right thing to do. yeah.”
Nash said Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, where she is based; began piloting the use of reusable PPE, such as gowns, during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since begun using reusable tourniquets in the critical care field.
She explained that there is more to these measures than their environmental impact. She said: “We’re not just talking about the product, we’re also talking about the supply chain.
“Disposable utensils are mainly manufactured in Pakistan, where children as young as 8 are making things that we use once and then throw away, and that’s not right.
“They get injured and they make things for us that they used once.”
The nurse advocated for trials by her trust to expand the range of reusable equipment and explore the feasibility of more reusable products.
She said more than 750,000 couch rolls were used each year in the West Midlands alone, and this was the next item her trust was considering replacing or discontinuing.
“So let’s rethink how we provide care and what we can challenge and what we don’t need at all,” Nash added.
“we [must] Let’s move away from this ridiculous throwaway society, both at home and in the NHS where we receive the care we provide. ”
Pete Waddingham, Net Zero Lead at the Health Innovation Network, presented the forum with examples of recent innovations he has seen to reduce clinical waste in the NHS.
Pete Waddingham
These included inhaler cases made from organic materials such as seaweed, sharps containers made from waste wood, and medical-grade disinfectant stored in paper-soluble packets.
Mr Waddingham said all of this would help move health services towards a more circular economy.
He also pointed to a new product being evaluated by some NHS organizations in the UK that could prevent vaccines and other medicines from being spoiled during power outages.
Mr Waddingham explained: “This product will keep your refrigerator cold for 4 hours even if the power goes out. It works like an ice pack.
“It’s a useful concept, but when you think about climate change, unfortunately there’s going to be a lot of disruption to energy infrastructure. Whether it’s heat or other geopolitical issues, this will prevent wastage.” [of] People who have to go to the pharmaceutical and clinical waste bins. ”
Emma Klein, Principal Category Manager for Real Estate and Facilities at NHS Shared Business Services, advocated further cutting waste on the cost-cutting front for trusts.
She, alongside Mr Waddingham, said on-site waste treatment and energy generation in UK healthcare facilities would be a feature in the near future.
Nick Markham, Permanent Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Member of the House of Lords, also spoke at the event.
Lord Markham updated attendees on the NHS and the Government’s net zero targets. He said the health service had a “vital role” in the UK’s ambitions as a “clean energy superpower”.
A DHSC representative said it was “sobering” to learn that some NHS facilities still use oil for heating, while others have recently removed coal-fired boilers. , the Government pledged to continue supporting measures to tackle the health service’s carbon footprint.
“The NHS has an overall impact on carbon emissions equivalent to that of Croatia,” Lord Markham said.
“This is obviously a big challenge, but [but the] The NHS is already doing a great job of meeting this challenge. ”
He said DHSC’s investment in LED lighting in hospitals to save on energy bills would be directed towards this.
Lord Markham said the same would apply to plans for the new hospital.
He specifically pointed to modular “Hospital 2.0” construction (building hospitals in prefabricated “modules”), which will reduce carbon emissions and shorten construction times from 11.5 to six years. He said he was deaf.
“We all have a shared interest in ensuring the NHS is sustainable and delivers care in a way that current and future generations can be proud of,” he added.
“I hope my comments today show that we are already making great strides towards the right investments and the right collaborations. There’s no room. [net zero] the goal. “