Green project:- A waste Audit of clinical skills practical classes in school of Nursing and Midwifery

Description

Currently, teaching clinical skills in healthcare disciplines requires the use of large numbers of single use items in sterile packaging which cannot be reused, and which produces large amounts of waste. Furthermore, this waste cannot currently be recycled through normal waste streams as it must be labelled as clinical waste and incinerated. Resealing the packing is not an option as part of the skill being taught requires correct handling and opening of the packaging to maintain sterility. In other instances, such as fluid/drug/saline bags, it is difficult to refill the bags as it was not part of the original design. It may be possible to redesign some of these resources so that they can be reusable teaching aids. It may also be possible to repurpose or reuse the waste items in other teaching activities or to address the need for incineration.
However, before we can implement or investigate any of these options that will reduce the production of waste through the clinical skills lab, it is necessary to undertake an audit of the waste stream, identifying the amount of waste, types of materials involved and the route through the waste pipeline. This audit will enable a strategy to be devised to prioritise interventions that will have the most impact to ensure that we focus our activities and resources appropriately.

Period	01 Nov 2024 → 01 Jul 2025