A key element of reducing the Trust’s environmental impact, beyond carbon emissions, is reducing the amount of plastics we use.
This applies to departments across the Trust, from cutlery in Catering to PPE in our theatre departments.
We have listed some examples of plastic reduction projects to date:
- Procedure pack reviews – Trust sustainability lead in procurement led a review of 72 procedure packs, in order to identify items within the packs that were rarely or never used. The project led to a reduction to 60 types of packs to standardise use across the Trust, and an average of 15 items removed from each pack. The Trust retendered for the smaller packs, resulting in a cost saving, as well as the reduction in plastics and waste volumes.
- Theatre hats - Anaesthetists led a project to swap single use theatre hats to reusable fabric hats that can be washed. These hats have clinicians’ names and roles on them, so also improve communication and patient care. You can read a full case below.
Reusable cups - Trust retail outlets support the use of reusable cups when ordering hot drinks and offers a 20p discount on the drink when a reusable cup is used. We have also recently installed new water refill stations in the main entrances of each of the four hospitals.
If you have any ideas of ways to reduced plastics in your department, please get in touch with us by emailing: sustainability
Did you know that across all sites at LUHFT we use 44.2 million gloves each year? That's equivalent in weight to a Boeing 787 or a blue whale!
Did you know that it is not always safer to wear gloves when we deliver patient care? In fact, wearing gloves when not necessary is thought to result in higher rates of transmission of infection between patients, and of contact dermatitis for the wearer. Their production, distribution, and disposal, also have significant adverse impacts on our planet.
Dr Sam Clark (ST7 ICM) is leading a pilot project in Aintree's Critical Care Unit to reduce glove wastage, encouraging staff to wear them (and plastic aprons) only when necessary. He is part of a sustainability working group, led by Dr Nik Sharma (Divisional Medical Director), who will drive this change organisation wide in the coming months.
You can find out more by heading to the Gloves off at LUHFT webpage. We will continue to update this page as the project progresses and report on the savings made.
To get involved in the project, please email: sam.
Installation of water refill stations to improve access to drinking water and reduce single-use plastics
In the UK 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used each year, with the average person in the UK now using 150 plastic water bottles every year.
There are lots of drinking water point around the Trust, but many are located within department and wards, meaning they are not always easily accessible to all staff, patients or visitors. Trust cafes and retail outlets will refill water bottles, but UK date indicates that 33% of people still feel very or somewhat uncomfortable asking to have their reusable bottle filled when not making a purchase. Therefore, not having designated water refill points is a barrier to some people using a refillable bottle at our sites.
In 2022, the Sustainability Team successfully applied for £14,400 to install refill station in the main entrances of the four hospitals within the Trust.
The provision of easy access to drinking water points supports staff and visitors to stay hydrated, and therefore supports their health and wellbeing. Improved access to drinking water is also part of the Trust’s work under the Prevention Pledge, which includes the following commitment ‘increase public access to fresh drinking water on NHS sites (keeping single use plastics to a minimum) and encouraging re-useable bottle refills.
Refill stations will also improve equality of access to drinking water, as it is free at the point of refill, rather than having to purchase drinks. This will help reduce wellbeing inequalities among staff, patients and visitors.
In the first year, these refill stations are expected to save over 40,000 water bottles.
