Last week I was lucky enough to represent ASGBI at The Surgical Forum. This is a regular event, at which the four Royal Colleges of Surgery and the SSA Presidents share learning on important topics common to all surgeons.
We were kindly hosted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the main topic for discussion was that of sustainability in surgery. The key message was that we should get our own house in order right now.
At ASGBI, we have been lucky enough to have our resident expert, Cleo Kenington challenge and educate us over the past years. Cleo’s role of ASGBI Sustainability Lead has recently been advertised. I am increasingly aware that this is one of the most important roles in our association.
There are so many steps we can all take in our daily practice.
In Glasgow, we heard Katie Hurst on behalf of RCS Edinburgh talk about their 12 Steps to NetZero Surgery, which, if our anaesthetic colleagues and we adopted, would significantly improve things. The simplest intervention could be the 'Rub don’t Scrub' initiative, in which, after the first formal hand scrubbing of a theatre list, all team members simply rub their hands with alcohol based hand rub. The first step of this change is to alter your local protocol. You can find resources on their website to help achieve this HERE.
Vivienne Gough on behalf of RCPSG, shared the Sustainability in Scotland: National Green Theatres Project and was passionate about reusable ports and drapes in surgery. More information can be found HERE.
Camilla Carroll from RCSI outlined the details of their sustainability interventions, including a new build giving spectacular opportunities to do the right thing. More information, along with access to the full RCSI Sustainability Principles and Practice in Surgery document can be found HERE.
Andrew Stevenson on behalf of RCSEng, gave stark statistics about the imminent disaster into which we are all sleepwalking. We were all encouraged to start to use the Intercollegiate Green Theatre Checklist. You can find the checklist HERE.
So, this week, for all our sakes and our children’s, look at your theatre with fresh eyes, as an opportunity to improve:
- Ask your anaesthetist about the drugs and gases they plan to use.
- Are your drapes and gowns reusable? If not, why not?
- Are your ports reusable? If not, why not?
- Is everything on your equipment tray essential? If not, why not?
- Are your waste bins correctly used? If not, why not?
Are you changing your practice to reduce the environmental impact of the operating theatre?
If not, why not?
