Sustainability interventions in nursing wards
Monitoring parameters
Reusable blood pressure cuff
Measuring a patient’s blood pressure is an essential part of patient care. Nurses can do this using either disposable or reusable blood pressure cuffs.
Intervention
Replace disposable blood pressure cuffs with reusable blood pressure cuffs.
Environmental impact
Measured in CO₂ emissions, based on the reduction in the number of disposable blood pressure cuffs and the reuse of blood pressure cuffs.
Implementation approach
Look at the approach for implementing a (reusable) product and consult the step-by-step guide for more information on setting goals, implementation, and evaluation.
When is it implemented?
This intervention is considered implemented when the nursing units in the hospital have switched to reusable blood pressure cuffs and the difference in CO₂-equivalent (kg) has been calculated.
How is this measured?
The environmental impact of this intervention can be determined using purchasing data for the number of disposable blood pressure cuffs, see the procedure for measuring an intervention using purchasing data.
Resources
Click here for an example where Radboud UMC switched to reusable blood pressure cuffs, and click here for the infographic. This resulted in an annual reduction of 2812 kg of plastic waste.
Resultaten
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View our other interventions
Nursing practice
Reusable non-sterile suture removal set
A suture removal set contains sterile disposable materials such as gauze, cotton swabs, tweezers, and scissors or a stitch cutter. The tweezers and scissors do not need to be sterile and can be replaced by clean, reusable ones that are cleaned and disinfected. This means the final sterilisation step is omitted after cleaning and disinfection. Mechanical cleaning (thermal disinfection) is preferred over manual cleaning.
General resources
Paper medication cup
Medication is often administered several times a day in plastic cups, which generates a large amount of waste. Paper medication cups suitable for liquids (containing less than 5% plastic) offer a more sustainable alternative. In some cases, however, a plastic cup remains necessary, for example when crushing medication.
General resources
Reducing glove use
Nurses use large quantities of non-sterile gloves during patient care. There are three situations where gloves are required: 1) when caring for patients in isolation 2) when there is a risk of contact with mucous membranes or bodily fluids 3) when preparing certain medications. Wearing gloves as a standard practice is not recommended1. Due to the high consumption rates in hospitals, gloves have a considerable environmental impact2.
