Sustainability on EP catheters alone.


l Harmonic shears are complex devices for performing surgical procedures and cost more than £500 each, yet around 90% are binned after a single use. Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust has demonstrated that companies can safely remanufacture them, giving up to 50% cost savings


The Design for Life programme aims to reduce this type of waste and achieve an NHS-wide move to sustainable alternatives - also supporting the Government’s Net Zero goals.The new roadmap sets out 30 actions to achieve this shift - including how the government will work with companies to encourage the production of more sustainable products, along with training for NHS staff on how to use them. Taking this approach will mean more money can be spent in the UK, driving growth, creating more engineering, life sciences and research jobs - all while securing savings for the NHS budget. Many products include precious metals such as platinum and titanium which are in high demand but go to landfill when they could be recovered and sold. A reduction in the amount of disposed single-use devices will also reduce the country’s carbon footprint and plastic pollution. The Government says it will encourage industry figures to innovate by making sure benefits of reusable MedTech are part of how the NHS chooses the products it buys. Baroness Merron visited the University College London Hospital on 15 October. The hospital is a member of the Circular Economy Healthcare Alliance, which advocates for sustainable practices within the NHS. During the visit, Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron commented: “Design for Life doesn’t just deliver on the Health Mission, to build an NHS fit for the future, it also delivers on our Growth Mission to make the UK a life science superpower and our commitment to get the NHS to Net Zero by 2045.” She toured a simulation of an operating


theatre and was shown various sustainable products that NHS staff use - from simple products such as gowns and scissors, to sophisticated, high-cost products such as harmonic shears. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical


Director of NHS England, said: “While the NHS is treating record numbers of patients, we know there is much more to do to ensure taxpayers get value for money. The NHS made a record £7.25 billion worth of efficiency savings last year and is targeting a further £9 billion of savings for 2024 to 2025. But we are rightly still looking for ways to get our money’s worth for every penny we spend.”


CSJ December 2024 I www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 43 COMMENT with ELS VAN HEREWEGEN


Collaboration needed for greener MedTech


Els Van Herewegen, EMEA Sr. Engagement Manager ESG at BD, discusses the challenges of transitioning to a circular economy in MedTech and calls for a holistic approach. The NHS has been a frontrunner in setting ambitious goals on achieving Net Zero emissions by 2045. The EU and many national governments have now set clear targets, recognising that the climate footprint of healthcare accounts for 4.4% of global net emissions, a figure often higher in countries with well-developed healthcare systems, such as the UK with 5.4%.* The UK aims to transform its medical technology (MedTech) sector by eliminating avoidable single-use products and adopting a more circular economy. (Design for Life Roadmap, Department of Health & Social Care, October 2024). This bold initiative seeks to enhance resilience, stimulate economic growth, provide better value for patients and the NHS, and significantly reduce the environmental impact of healthcare. The broad range of MedTech companies and products requires a deeper review of product


life cycles, exploring routes to achieve Net Zero, while maintaining supply chains, patient safety, and continued product innovation. Achieving this will require bold and transformative change. Specific commitments must be made to create meaningful, measurable change over the coming decades, focusing on climate change, product impacts across their lifecycle, resilient and responsible supply chains, and transparency. Targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) should also be science based. For example, the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) can help companies validate GHG reduction targets, aligned to the 1.5°C ambition. Achieving these targets requires coordinated action across three main areas: l Engaging with suppliers to support their journeys towards setting and achieving science- based targets.


l Designing out GHG emissions from products and packaging throughout their life cycles. l Building ecosystems and partnerships across the value chain to decarbonise healthcare. BD, a worldwide supplier of medical devices, is committed to sustainable healthcare, focusing on quality care, while minimising environmental impact through collaboration. For example, a Danish public-private collaboration seeks to explore recycling hazardous waste from used blood collection tubes. In Sweden, the focus has included evaluating the recycling of polypropylene from saline pre-filled syringes, and in Belgium, clinical trials have been assessing ways to reduce packaging waste. BD are also actively exploring opportunities in the UK to partner with NHS providers and wider organisations, in support of the recently launched Design for Life Roadmap. Transitioning to a circular economy in MedTech isn’t always straightforward, and there are instances where single-use products can’t be replaced directly with reusable or recyclable alternatives. Instead, it might require a combination of products or new processes, the mitigation of unintended consequences, and safeguards to maintaining high quality care. For the NHS, this means that while the long-term goal is sustainability and cost-efficiency, the short-term reality might involve increased investment. There is a need to invest in new technologies, training for healthcare professionals, and the infrastructure required to support changes. Recycling is important, but there is also a need to reduce waste through process efficiency. Reducing inefficiencies in care can unlock opportunities to improve patient safety and experience, enhance healthcare workforce wellbeing, as well as address the sector’s environmental footprint. In conclusion, addressing climate change and financial pressures, while maintaining quality care, requires a holistic approach involving collaboration, innovation, and commitment to sustainability from everyone. This is explored further in the 2024 edition of the BD Healthcare resilience barometer, looking at what can drive or threaten healthcare resilience in 100 countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa, from the perspective of patients and healthcare workers, as well as the efficiency and environmental sustainability of care. * Health Care Without Harm. Climate-smart healthcare series. Green Paper Number One, produced in collaboration with ARUP


, 2019.


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