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There’s no denying that anaesthesia has been a healthcare hero since its introduction in 1846. Without it, countless procedures and operations could not have taken place, and the clinical management of childbirth and chronic/acute pain would be much more challenging.

 

Nonetheless, the specialty is starting to experience a sustainability shake up. Gases used in anaesthetic practices account for 2% of the NHS carbon footprint- anaesthetic gases might be a healthcare hero, but they have a detrimental impact on the environment.

 

The anaesthetic desflurane routinely used in operating theatres has a global warming potential (GWP) 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide. For those not in the know, the global warming potential is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of gas will absorb over a given period. In other words, the larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth. The figure is relative to CO2 which has a GWP of 1- if we want to avoid further climate change, a gas like desflurane with a GWP of 2500 is an absolute no-go.

 

It’s safe to say desflurane doesn’t belong in the NHS net zero carbon future that University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) is striving for. That’s why, with the support of the Royal College of Anaesthetics and the Association of Anaesthetics, NHS England has announced the decommissioning of desflurane by early 2024. UHP are ahead of the curve on this target, as desflurane hasn’t been used in our hospital since November 2022 (if the earth could breathe a sigh of relief at this, I’m pretty certain it would).

 

UHP now uses the lower carbon alternatives sevoflurane and isoflurane. To put the benefits of switching to these gases into context, UHP used 10.8 litres of desflurane in 2022 which equated to 9.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions. By contrast, for 2022-2023, UHP used 215 litres of sevoflurane and 30 litres of isoflurane which equates to 9.9 and 5.7 tonnes of CO2 respectively. This is even more astounding when considering that desflurane ceased to be used in November 2022.

 

As Trusts across the country follow in the decommissioning of desflurane, harmful emissions will be reduced by around 40 kilotons of carbon a year- equivalent to removing the annual emissions of 11,000 homes. If that fact isn’t enough to make your eyes widen, over the course of a decade, emissions saved through the delimitation of desflurane would be equivalent to those that result from powering every home in Plymouth for a year!

 

We rely on the eagle eyes of our UHP staff to spot high carbon emitting processes in the hospital- without your collaboration, we would struggle to meet our net zero targets. Know of an activity in your department that emits lots of emissions? Get in touch with us and we’ll investigate. Together we can do our bit for the planet.