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Having a hospital supported system to administer oral paracetamol to all preoperative patients where it is appropriate can substantially reduce the cost and emissions (12x) associated with intravenous paracetamol. It can also help ensure comprehensive analgesia care! There seems to be a ‘no-brainer’ system redesign for all surgical admission units. A large number of institutions…

KN2OW Nitrous in your new hospital build. UK and Ireland Anaesthesia bodies have recommended nitrous pipelines be decommissioned and cylinders used in lieu. USA and Australian health services are following suit. But what specifications to put in place for your new hospital build? Here are some resources which support the omission of piped nitrous oxide…

Humidification, Ventilation and Air Conditioning of theatres is a major source of energy consumption in hospitals and turning it ‘down’ (not off) is called ‘setback’. Turning on setbacks after-hours can save more than $10,000/year/ theatre in electricity spend without affecting theatre safety. Victorian (Australia) Guidelines state that  The system will be capable of operation in…

UK and Ireland Anaesthesia bodies have recommended nitrous pipelines be decommissioned and cylinders used in lieu. AusHFG guidelines no longer recommend reticulated nitrous oxide for all new facilities. So how to go about decommissioning your likely leaky nitrous pipes? A proposed phased approach outlined below. Phase 1 – Cut off dead wood Disconnect and decommission…

Healthcare has long known that medical error causes death and harm. It’s been quantified and high performing organisations measure and investigate every death to minimise medical error as much as possible. But how many people die due to our carbon emissions? It’s hard to know for sure but modelling allows us to get an idea….

Recycling is great but refusing, rethinking, reducing and reusing are better. Some projects which our WA GTN crew are implementing currently on the prevention side of the pyramid are Reusable Tourniquets. The Daisy Grip tourniquet has been through the WA Health process for device approval. It costs ~30 times that of a disposable tourniquet but…

2024 The July 2024 GTN WA Meeting Recordings are now available to view on youtube. 2023 You can watch the GTN WA August 2023 meeting recordings now on youtube. They are available on this playlist as individually recorded videos Sustainability and Medical Devices – Casper Venbjerg Hansen, Senior Director, Sustainability and Risk and Compliance Sustainable…

Cleaning an Eye Clinic – Alex Buller (Hawkes Bay NZ) Things to make your Urology service more sustainable – Ashley Lee (Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA) Doctors for Environment Australia: Planetary health education in healthcare – Sonia Chanchlani Schneider Electric’s approach to decarbonisation (apologies if not completely represented) Life Cycle Assessment resource https://www.openlca.org/

You are invited to our next GTN WA meeting to network and share ideas on improving the sustainability of operating theatres and hospitals across WA. We are hoping to gather Anaesthetists, surgeons, nurses, technicians, procurement staff and any one else involved in driving theatre sustainability. The theme of this meeting is“Green Theatres need Green Procurement”…