More sustainable surgery at Peter Mac
27 October 2023
Re-usable surgical gowns and drapes are being trialled in Peter Mac’s operating theatres, in a move to reduce a major source of clinical waste.
The re-usable gowns (worn by the surgical team) and drapes (covering the patient and any surfaces holding sterilized equipment) are washed and re-sterilized between each surgery.
It is understood to be the first time these re-usable drapes – which have the same features as disposable drapes, such as adhesive edges – have been used in Australia.
They have replaced disposable gowns and drapes made from single-use plastic, and which are ultimately headed for landfill.
Surgeon Hayden Snow, who leads the trial along with Acting Perioperative Nurse Unit Manager Kara Taylor, said it was part of efforts to recognise and reduce healthcare’s environmental impact.
“There can be a view that operating theatres are doing such important work that they don’t really need to think about the environmental consequences of that work,” Dr Snow says.
“But I’d argue that surgery has a responsibility to lead on this given the major role it plays as a generator of clinical waste.”
Dr Snow says studies have shown operating theatres generate up to 70% of a hospital's clinical waste – and were three to six times more energy intensive to run than the rest of a hospital.
The switch to reusable theatre items can lead to big reductions in waste (down 84%) and related water consumption (83%) and greenhouse gas emissions (66%), according to a life-cycle analysis.
Dr Snow said the re-usable items functioned just as well as disposables when it came to maintaining a sterile field, and surgical teams often reported they were more comfortable to wear.
The trial began in mid-October and surgical teams are being asked to provide feedback before the change could be made permanent.
Dr Snow and colleagues also called for more sustainable practises in the paper “Environmentally sustainable surgery: A plea to act” published in the ANZ Journal of Surgery earlier this year.
Contacts
For more information contact the Peter Mac Communications team on 0417 123 048.
About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world-leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.