The role of perioperative practitioners in driving sustainability in operating theatres is key to reducing the impact of healthcare on the environment. The AfPP Oxford Regional Conference recently explored both the scale of the problem, and the practical solutions perioperative practitioners can adopt.
Climate change is no longer a distant concern; it is a pressing global emergency with real and devastating consequences. Rising sea levels, more extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and escalating health crises are among the stark warnings we face. For healthcare, the challenge is particularly acute. The NHS alone is responsible for 5.4% of the UK's carbon footprint, with surgery and anaesthesia among the most carbon-intensive activities.
Perioperative practitioners are uniquely positioned to help change this picture. Their daily decisions, from anaesthetic choices to equipment use, have a direct impact on sustainability in operating theatres. The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) is at the forefront of guiding and empowering the profession to act, most recently through its support of the updated Green Theatre Checklist, developed with the Surgical Royal Colleges and partner organisations.
In a recent session led by Nicola Stroud, Senior Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) at Colchester Hospital, Lead Clinical Practice Facilitator for Perioperative Projects with the University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Editor of the AfPP Innovation, People and Practice (IPP) magazine, and former AfPP Sustainability Special Interest Group Lead, delegates at the AfPP Oxford Regional Conference explored both the scale of the problem and the practical solutions perioperative practitioners can adopt.
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