Sustainability is at the heart of our hospital’s efforts to reduce waste and cut costs, and one of our own team members is leading the way..
Adam Gostelow, our Associate Nurse Unit Manager of Anaesthetics/PACU, has spearheaded an innovative initiative to make our operating theatres more environmentally-friendly.
In the past, our team used reusable tourniquets, but due to infection control concerns, we transitioned to disposable ones. This change, while necessary, resulted in a significant increase in medical waste going to landfill.
Determined to find a better solution, Adam partnered with Medsalv, a company that specialises in recycling single-use medical devices. Thanks to this collaboration, we are now able to collect and reprocess these devices, significantly reducing waste and lowering costs for the hospital.
Rather than being discarded as waste, items collected through this initiative are reprocessed by Medsalv—extending their usability up to 14 times. Not only does this contribute to environmental sustainability, but it also results in considerable cost savings as hospitals can repurchase the refurbished devices at a much lower price.
We are currently collecting the following items for recycling:
- Disposable IV tourniquets
- Calf compressors for DVT prevention
- AV stimulators
- Hover mats for bariatric patients
This initiative is a significant step toward reducing our hospital’s environmental footprint while also delivering financial benefits.