Green anaesthetics trial aims to reduce hospitals’ carbon footprint
Green anaesthetics trial aims to reduce hospitals’ carbon footprint
07 February 2023
Teams at Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s hospitals will begin using Volatile Capture Technology (VCT) – canisters attached to the back of anaesthetic machines which capture exhaled gases.
Anaesthetic gases make up 5% of the NHS’ carbon footprint, and when patients receive anaesthetics via a machine, the gases they exhale are normally released via pipes into the atmosphere from the hospital roof.
The VCT canisters capture significant volumes of these gases, which can then be purified and reused.
Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to award a grant that covers the cost of this trial.
"Making this change would be a significant step in reducing our carbon footprint."
Dr Tom Dolphin, Consultant Anaesthetist
Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Tom Dolphin hopes this innovation will work in practice to drastically reduce emissions from anaesthetics.
“We hope this trial, led by Operating Department Practitioner Michael Odesoji, will demonstrate that this technology is easy to implement, so the Trust can roll out these devices permanently across all surgical theatres, resulting in less of these anaesthetic gases being released into the atmosphere,” he said.
“There are currently around 90 anaesthetic machines across our hospitals, with thousands of anaesthetics given each year to patients, so making this change would be a significant step in reducing our carbon footprint.”
Surgical Trainee and Clinical Research Fellow Jasmine Winter-Beatty, was the impetus for the trial, identifying a need to tackle the environmental impact of anaesthetics.
Our grant is funding the trial of VCT devices by two leading brands across these sites, to compare their use in a hospital setting.
If the technology is implemented at the end of the trial, this will help the Trust to achieve one of its 12 ‘green goals’. It also aligns with the NHS target of reaching net zero by 2040.
