Anaesthesia
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The sustainable healthcare agenda has become increasingly prominent in recent years. But what does this mean for patients? In this article, we draw on our personal views and experiences as patients, carers and patient advocates, and consider the effects that efforts to improve the sustainability of healthcare may have on care quality and patient experience. ⋯ Based on synthesising these resources with our own experiences, we make recommendations on how to: share information with patients about how they can contribute to healthcare sustainability; offer more sustainable alternatives without pressure; account for diverse patient views on the relevance of sustainable healthcare; provide information about the impact of healthcare on the environment; involve patients and the public in leading positive change; and avoid broadening health inequalities. There is a clear need for more research and engagement to help advance our understanding and weigh up the benefits to individual patients vs. the environmental impacts on the wider population.
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Surgery is a carbon-heavy activity and creates a high volume of waste. Surgical teams around the world want to deliver more environmentally sustainable surgery but are unsure what to do and how to create change. There are many interventions available, but resources and time are limited. ⋯ Surgeons need to rapidly upskill their generic knowledge base, identify which measures they can implement locally and take part in national research programmes. Surgical teams in the NHS have the chance to create a world-leading programme that can bring change to hospitals around the world. This article provides an overview of how surgeons see the surgical team being involved in environmentally sustainable surgery.
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The dedication of the international anaesthetic community to reducing the environmental impact of healthcare is important and to be celebrated. When this is underpinned by robust science, it has the potential to make a real difference. ⋯ Here, we assert that when proper consideration is given to the science of climate change, volatile anaesthetic gas emissions cannot be simply equated to real carbon dioxide emissions, and that their climate impact is vanishingly small. This paper gives anaesthetists a framework to make informed choices founded on climate science and calls for attention to be refocused on the urgent need to reduce the real carbon dioxide emissions associated with healthcare.