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 have protocols to allow holding bay nurses to administer oral paracetamol as a nurse-initiated prescription.
NHS trusts have published articles on this – Ghosh et al 2022. Australian groups describe IV paracetamol having 12x carbon footprint of oral paracetamol (Davies et al 2023).
NHS Scotland has a policy on it (2023)
Royal Children’s Hospital in Australia has a protocol for paediatric patients to be administered preop paracetamol.
