Sustainability interventions in nursing wards
Monitoring parameters
Reusable transport bag for laboratory samples
Nurses collect various samples for diagnostic testing. For transport to the laboratory, different single-use containers such as cups, bags, or kidney trays are currently used and then discarded. A reusable transport container is a more sustainable alternative.
Intervention
Transport samples from departments to labs using a reusable transport bag. Some hospitals currently reuse a plastic zip-lock bag, which is reused until visibly contaminated or damaged.
Environmental impact
Measured in CO₂ emissions, based on the reuse of the transport bag.
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 nursing units in the hospital have switched to reusable transport bags for transporting samples to the lab, and the difference in CO₂-equivalent (kg) has been calculated. If another reusable transport product is chosen in this intervention, it will count as an implemented intervention. Please contact the program team for options to calculate the CO₂-equivalent in kg.
How is this measured?
The environmental impact of this intervention can be determined using purchasing data for the number of disposable transport products used for the intervention, see the procedure for measuring an intervention using purchasing data.
Resources
Click here for the report on waste research conducted at Erasmus MC, Maastricht UMC, Leiden University Medical Center, and Radboudumc. This report includes the recommendation for a reusable version of the white disposable transport cup.
Resultaten
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View our other interventions
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.
Monitoring parameters
Reducing blood testing
Blood samples are an essential part of patient care, but they also generate waste and take time. Nurses play an important role at the start of this process and, together with physicians and nurse specialists, can explore ways to reduce the number of blood samples performed.
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.
