Greener Operations: Sustainable Peri-Operative Practice Top 10

1. How can more sustainable reusable equipment safely be used during and around the time of an operation?
2. How can healthcare organisations more sustainably procure (obtain) medicines, equipment and items used during and around the time of an operation?
3. How can healthcare professionals who deliver care during and around the time of an operation be encouraged to adopt sustainable actions in practice?
4. Can more efficient use of operating theatres and associated practices reduce the environmental impact of operations?
5. How can the amount of waste generated during and around the time of an operation be minimised?
6. How do we measure and compare the short- and long-term environmental impacts of surgical and non-surgical treatments for the same condition?
7. What is the environmental impact of different anaesthetic techniques (e.g., different types of general, regional and local anaesthesia) used for the same operation?
8. How should the environmental impact of an operation be weighed against its clinical outcomes and financial costs?
9. How can environmental sustainability be incorporated into the organisational management of operating theatres?
10. What are the most sustainable forms of effective infection prevention and control used around the time of an operation (e.g., PPE, drapes, clean air ventilation)?

The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the workshop:

11. How do we measure the carbon footprint of an operation?
12. What are the best ways to educate healthcare professionals who provide care before, during and after operations, about sustainable healthcare?
13. Can equipment be recycled or repaired, instead of being disposed of, to reduce its environmental impact?
14. How can the waste of drugs be avoided during and around the time of an operation?
15. What alternative, more sustainable, materials can replace plastic packaging and equipment used during and around the time of an operation?
16. How do we define and avoid low-benefit or unnecessary operations?
17. How can energy usage within an operating theatre be safely reduced?
18. What are the barriers to using more sustainable anaesthetic practices?
19. How can we increase the reuse and recycling of equipment used for rehabilitation in the recovery period after an operation?
20. Can alternative, more environmentally sustainable, methods of disposal be used for waste that is generated during and around the time of an operation?
21. What is the most sustainable way of providing equipment packs for an operation?
22. How can we compare the environmental impacts of reusable and single-use equipment used during and around the time of an operation?
23. How much recyclable waste generated during an operation is being appropriately recycled?
24. What is the most sustainable way to sterilise equipment used during an operation?
25. How can drug syringes be used better to reduce their environmental impact?

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For full details of all of the questions identified by this PSP, please see the document below.