Withybush Hospital Emergency Department receives national environmental award
In a bid to reduce waste and cut the department’s carbon footprint, staff at the Emergency Department at Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest have been awarded a prestigious national award for their efforts.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine awarded the Bronze accreditation as part of the College’s Green ED programme.
Emergency departments are busy and pressured environments for staff and visitors. At Withybush, four core team members came together to make a positive difference for the hospital and the wider community, including Dr Vicki Hughes – Consultant, Dr Lizzie Caisley - Resident Doctor, Janet Bird - ED Secretary and Dr Oyewale Osundeyi - ED Clinical Fellow.
The team introduced a range of changes, including reducing single-use plastic by replacing plastic medicine pots with paper alternatives, and reducing unnecessary cannulas – small tubes used to administer medicine – within the department. They also audited computer screen brightness and identified older computers that could be replaced with more energy-efficient models.
Dr Oyewale Osundeyi led a waste segregation project to increase recycling and reduce incineration. He said: “Trying to reduce waste comes with a lot of challenges, because you are trying to change people’s habits and trying to make sure people understand the importance, but we were lucky to get a lot of people involved from the estates team to the nursing departments who helped us achieve this.”
Dr Lizzie Caisley is pleased that the work she and her colleagues undertook to make the ED at Withybush more sustainable will lead to significant cost savings. She led a quality improvement project where she targeted unnecessary coagulation testing within the admission bloods of patients.
The project is expected to generate yearly savings of £30,000, as well as significant CO2 savings. She said: "By reviewing our routine practices, I was able to identify simple changes that benefit both patients and the environment. It shows how quality improvement work can deliver meaningful financial and environmental savings.”
ED Secretary Janet Bird offered essential back up to the team by gathering information, co-ordinating team meetings and making action plans to support the implementation of sustainability initiatives.
“I also set up a Green ED information board in a designated area to promote sustainability initiatives and raise awareness. I presented the Green ED programme at the Resident Doctor Induction, outlining the initiatives and highlighting improvements already implemented within the department.”
Dr Vicki Hughes said: “A group of individuals, cutting across resident doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and myself as a senior consultant, all got involved in this work. There were many different elements to achieving this bronze award. The next step is making sure the team is supported to build on it.”
Withybush was recognised as one of the 11 EDs across England and Wales that together achieved an estimated £216,000 of cost savings and 131,502kg of CO2e savings by implementing a range of environmentally sustainable practices within their departments.
Dr Ian Higginson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said: “On behalf of the College – a massive congratulations to the team at Withybush General Hospital who have been awarded a Bronze accreditation through our GreenED programme.
“This accomplishment has been driven by a dedicated, innovative team, who have reduced emissions, as well as waste and saved costs - all to tackle the climate crisis.
“A healthier planet means healthier patients, and we have a duty to act to protect both. As a College, we are proud to support Emergency Departments across the UK, and beyond, in playing their part to become more environmentally friendly.”