Author: Elliot Smith

A departmental audit of clinical use of N2O can be helpful on multiple fronts. It allows comparison between procurement and clinical use, with any discrepancies helping identify leaks within the N2O infrastructure. It also allows for understanding of N2O clinical use patterns within the department to help focus interventions to help reduce clinical use of…

Climate change is a problem for us all to tackle. As the guardians of inhaled anaesthetics Anaesthetists have a major role to play in reducing health system emissions due to N2O. The Kn2oW Nitrous campaign hopes to empower people to take a closer look at N2O consumption in their hospital with the aim of reducing…

Leaks are a major source of Nitrous Oxide emissions. Figure 1: Hole in nitrous oxide piping due to rub from an adjacent waste pipe. Leaks in ageing N2O manifold and pipeline infrastructure results in significant wastage of N2O into the atmosphere. The UK Nitrous Oxide Project, led by pharmacist Alifia Chakera, found that wastage via…

Below is a generic survey that assesses use and attitudes to N2O. Feel free to adapt to your own department. Demographics State: Service: Hospital:  Consultant or trainee (What level are you if you are a trainee?): Amount used How many times in the last year have you used nitrous oxide? Never once 2-5 6-10 >10…