NHS Initiative to Reduce Surgery Waiting Times is Effective But What Are The Environmental Consequences?

Elective Surgical Hubs (ESH) are an NHS initiative to drive down waiting list times and provide a high-throughput model for lower-complexity surgeries. In Manchester, one ESH is set up at Trafford Hospital. With higher patient numbers being seen and higher intensity levels of service use, the environmental impact is unknown and potentially more damaging than traditional care pathways.

Surgeons tools

The project comprises an interdisciplinary team lead by Anthony Chan, Consultant General Surgeon, from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The team will also include Health Economics Professor Katherine Payne from The University of Manchester, Qualitative Researchers at the University of Birmingham, alongside GIRFT (Getting it Right First Time). Together, they are in collaboration to research potential unintended environmental consequences from ESHs. 

Following the receipt of a £99,000 funding award from SBRI Healthcare, the team will be looking to develop a method quantifying the environmental impact and analysing how to improve sustainability in this area. 

The project will focus on 4 key areas:

  1. Development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
  2. A qualitative research project looking at staff and patient views around sustainability-driven changes. 
  3. A quality improvement project to test the impact of KPI recording.
  4. A cost effectiveness analysis of the overall project. 

Research is beginning to take place looking at the whole patient pathway for those who undergo surgery in an Elective Surgical Hub and investigating related carbon emissions, volume of waste produced, energy use and item procurement.

The hope is that the development of this sustainability framework here in Manchester will be translatable to all Elective Surgical Hubs nationwide. This will enable consistency in approach to sustainability practices in these pathways as well as measurable targets to strive for.