Surgical Holdings welcomes publication of ‘Green Theatre Checklist’ ahead of conference
Surgical Holdings welcomes the publication of the Intercollegiate Green Theatre Checklist, which presents a huge step in supporting theatre teams to cut their carbon footprint – and we look forward to attending this year’s @Operating-Theatres-Conference to showcase how, by opting to repair instruments over replace, we can support hospitals to adapt and implement some of these recommendations.
Healthcare services globally have a large carbon footprint, accounting for over 4% of total carbon emissions. Surgery is responsible for a large portion of these emissions, with a typical single operation estimated to generate between 150-170kgCO2e, equivalent to driving 450 miles in an average petrol car.
The ‘Intercollegiate Green Theatre Checklist’ recognises the need to act collectively to tackle this challenge. The compendium – produced by the Royal Surgical Colleges’ includes a set of guidelines and policies to support members of the surgical team to introduce changes in the operating theatre, to help cut the carbon footprint of surgery, for example by using reusable or reprocessed surgical devices.
Several of these are aligned with our offer for a circular economy solution that addresses all issues raised in cost, reuse, CO2 reduction and safety of surgical instrumentation.
Single-use equipment, for instance, is a major hotspot in surgical operations, with consumables typically contributing 32% of carbon emissions. The checklist advises that there is no evidence of superior quality or safety with single-use equipment – and that, by swapping for reusable equivalents, significant environmental savings can be easily found.
The guideline also supports the repair of reusable surgical instruments as another vital step to reduce the carbon footprint of operations.
Rizan et al (2022) recently concluded that repair can reduce both the cost and the Environment impact of surgery.
As a company, we are dedicated to helping to actively promote recycling, reselling, repurposing, repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing of stainless-steel products. (Research shows that it requires 50% less energy to refurbish a surgical instrument than to replace it!)
We have developed a range of high-quality reusable instruments, incorporating our exclusive Duo Surface Finish, designed for longevity in performance and corrosion resistance, and which are serviced in-house by our team of experienced and specialist technicians. In addition, independent testing has proven Surgical Holdings Reusable Scissors to not lose sharpness after 5000 usage cycles.
We repair over 14,500 medical devices per year along with rigid endoscopes at our established factory in Southend-on-Sea, along with air tools, electric handpieces, and laparoscopic and electrosurgery devices – all carried out in-house to strict quality standards.
We are able to offer a complete refurbishment service at a fraction of the price of new instrumentation, offering hospitals a managed system where every instrument on every tray you wish to replace can instead be refurbished and returned in an ‘as new’ condition, which offers a huge cost saving – of up to 80% compared to buying new instruments.
Dan-Coole, Managing Director of Surgical Holdings, said: “In the UK, medical equipment contributes 10% of the NHS carbon footprint. Reusable versions of equipment will, in almost every circumstance, reduce carbon footprint. The solution we have developed is to extend our UK manufacture of reusable instruments and develop a unique repair and refurbishment service. Alongside this, we utilise our technicians to not only assist in the manufacture of the devices, but if we manufacture sets of instruments, we also offer scheduled maintenance to ensure the instruments can be maintained for potentially 20-30 years.”
The Green Theatre Checklist presents a major step to support theatre teams to enact important interventions that can progress their sustainability agency. We are excited to be showcasing our expanding portfolio of sustainable surgical instrument solutions, and specialist repair and refurbishment service, at this year’s Operating Theatres Conference in Manchester.
If you’re attending this year’s show, be sure to visit our team to learn more about how we can help you to take the best approach to global sustainability and achieve huge savings.
The Third Annual Operating Theatres Show takes place 9 February 2023 in Manchester. For more information, visit: https://www.salford.ac.uk/spd/conferences/operating-theatres-conference