Writing on the winter solstice here in the UK, the shortest day of the year - truly mid-winter. And then tomorrow the light will start to take over the darkness and spring will be on the way! 2021 has brought us growth and many positive things.
This year, five surgical teams from around the UK competed in the first-ever 'Green Surgery Challenge'. Through the challenge they have effectively reduced the carbon footprint of surgery by creating new devices, streamlining procedures, switching to reusable equipment, and altering the type of anaesthetic used for certain operations.
Europe’s leading conference on sustainable healthcare, CleanMed Europe, will be held online from 29 November – 3 December 2021. Hosted by Health Care Without Harm Europe, the conference showcases cutting-edge practices in sustainable healthcare and is the ideal venue for healthcare innovators to network and share ideas, finding new ways to drive change within their organisations and communities.
In November, the UK hosts COP26 in Glasgow, bringing world leaders together to address climate change. Through the representation of 10 members of our network, the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
We are pleased to introduce the team from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who will be joining the Green Surgery Conference November 4th as one of the Green Surgery Challenge finalists.
The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is pleased to announce the Green Surgery Conference, cohosted by the Royal College of Surgeons England, will be held November 4th, 12:00-14:30.
The Green Surgery Challenge team at Wrexham Maelor and Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospitals, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales, focused on the carpal tunnel release pathway as this is the most commonly performed procedure in the field of hand surgery. They considered the whole pathway and chose interventions that would reduce the consumption of single-use surgical equipment and reduce energy use by moving out of the operating theatre, reducing size of autoclave trays by streamlining the reusable surgical sets and eliminating the need for ward admission.
The Green Surgery Challenge team at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, focused on streamlining the pre-operative pathway for elective surgery. This approach is an example of the third principle of sustainable clinical practice, ‘lean’ service delivery. The team focused on pathology testing as this is the single highest volume clinical activity in the NHS and so reducing this activity has the potential to make a significant impact for sustainable healthcare.
The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has been awarded Observer Status at the upcoming COP26 this November in Glasgow. This allows us to participate in holding negotiators accountable and increasing the transparency of the COP26 process. The Observer role is also crucial to ensure a wide range of stakeholders from across sectors have oversight of the progress of the negotiations.