Two thirds of NHS carbon footprint comes from disposable items - study

Single-use surgical devices account for two-thirds of the carbon footprint of the five most common NHS operations, a new study has found. Looking at operations at three University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust sites, researchers found that 68 % of the carbon footprint came from single-use, often plastic items such as patient gowns and drapes and instrument tables. It found that knee replacement surgery left the biggest footprint with 85.5 kg CO2e, followed by gallbladder removal surgery with 20.3 kg CO2e, carpal tunnel decompression surgery with 12 kg CO2e, hernia surgery with 11.7 kg CO2e and tonsil surgery with 7 .5 kg of CO2e. Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is the standard unit for measuring the carbon footprint and is used to compare the emissions of different greenhouse gases by converting them to carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential. Researchers from Brighton and Sussex Medical School and the University of Warwick said just 23 % items are responsible for more than 80 % of practices' carbon footprint, so they should focus on finding alternatives for these high-carbon items. Leading researcher Dr. Chantelle Rizan, from Brighton and Sussex Medical School, said immediate changes such as replacing single-use items with reusable ones where possible and better decontamination and waste management could reduce the carbon footprint of operations by a third. She added: “Mitigating the carbon footprint of products used in resource-intensive areas such as surgical operating theaters will be important in achieving a net zero carbon footprint in healthcare. "Strategies should include eliminating or finding low-carbon alternatives for the most carbon-intensive products." The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, is the first of its kind to analyze the carbon footprint of surgical items used in routine operations.

Danny Halpin