ADVERTISING FEATURE
Advancing Perioperative Practice: Optimising Workflow and Supporting Sustainability with Sterile Procedure Trays
The perioperative environment is a nexus of intense activity, where precision and patient safety are paramount. Yet, perioperative professionals navigate immense pressures daily, from high-intensity workloads to the psychological burden of complex procedures. These challenges impact clinician well-being and the seamless delivery of care.1
Simultaneously, healthcare
systems face increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices without compromising clinical excellence. Medline, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, understands these intricate demands. Drawing on over a century of healthcare heritage, we empower perioperative professionals by developing practical solutions that help make healthcare run better. Our Sterile Procedure Trays (SPTs) are a prime example, designed to streamline workflows, enhance safety, and integrate sustainability directly into perioperative care.
Streamlining Workflows with Sterile Procedure Trays Meticulous preparation is fundamental to every surgical procedure.2
Traditionally, this involves nurses individually sourcing,
unwrapping, and organising numerous components – a time- consuming process that adds to clinical stress. SPTs fundamentally transform this. As customisable, pre-assembled packs containing all necessary sterile drapes, and swabs, and other consumables for a specific procedure, SPTs are delivered ready for immediate use. Our data, supported by clinician insights, shows that SPTs can
save approximately 10 minutes per procedure. These operational savings are tangible: for instance, waste-sorting time may reduce from 1 minute 45 seconds to just 36 seconds, and the time a circulating nurse spends opening supplementary consumables can drop from over 6 minutes to seconds. This enables perioperative teams to initiate procedures more promptly and consistently.
The Human Impact of 10 Minutes Saved The time saved by nurses using SPTs translates directly into enhanced care. Less time spent on logistical tasks means more mental space for complex clinical duties and patient monitoring, fostering a calmer environment. These reclaimed minutes offer an opportunity for a brief mental break to help combat burnout. Crucially, they also allow for more meaningful patient interaction – such as offering reassurance or conducting pre-operative assessments – ensuring a more present, less stressed clinician, better equipped to deliver high quality care.
Integrating Sustainability into Perioperative Practice Medline’s promise to making healthcare run better extends to fostering a sustainable healthcare ecosystem. We explore ways to
integrate sustainability throughout the SPT lifecycle, from initial design to delivery. We strive to reduce our environmental footprint through smart packaging, such as our “PalBox” concept, which can ship around 50 packs in a single unit, reducing cardboard waste by approximately 30%. Smaller components, like the waxy backing paper for labels, are recycled with specialised partners as well as surgical drapes and gowns. Furthermore, our “no cardboard service,” helps eliminate inbound packaging waste from hospital sites, simplifying waste streams and reducing disposal costs. Material differentiation is another cornerstone of our strategy. Using sugar cane pulp bowls can reduce CO2
e emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional plastic3 , lowering carbon
footprints without compromising sterility. Transparency is vital for informed decision-making. Medline
conducts third-party verified Life Cycle Assessments to provide perioperative professionals with data-driven insights into the environmental impact of their drapes and gowns. This ambition extends to our annual pack review process. Medline teams conduct pack reviews with hospitals, advising on how simple component changes – such as opting for lighter weight drapes or wraps – can decrease environmental impact based on associated CO2
e emissions. This partnership empowers
perioperative staff to drive sustainable change, ensuring efficiency and environmental stewardship evolve hand-in-hand. Through continuous collaboration, Medline helps perioperative
teams elevate standards and make healthcare run better – for every patient, every practitioner, and for the future of our planet.
To learn more, visit
https://www.medline.eu/uk/ sterile-procedure-trays
1. Li, Yufang et al. “Understanding burnout among operating room nurses: a qualitative study.” Frontiers in public health vol. 13 1604631. 26 May. 2025, doi:10.3389/
fpubh.2025.1604631 2. Mouarbes, Dany et al. « Impact of implementing of Custom Surgical Tray (CST) in ACLR procedure on Sustainable Development (SD). » International Journal of Surgery Open vol. 49 100574. Dec. 2022, doi:10.1016/j.ijso.2022.100574 NewGen Surgical - “Calculating Impact” available at
https://newgensurgical.com/impact
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