Green means go for anaesthetist's sustainable role

Consultant Anaesthetist Elana Owen is playing a leading role in helping Swansea Bay’s theatres become more sustainable – and has a foil tray to thank!

Elana is one of three staff members named as sustainable clinical leads within Swansea Bay University Health Board.

This role is in addition to her day-to-day responsibilities as an anaesthetist, with Elana aiming to embed sustainable practices across the health board to meet climate change objectives.

She was already actively promoting several sustainable projects in theatres.

Now Elana has stepped into an official role – the first of its kind in the health board. It will see her work closely with colleagues and staff groups to encourage, promote and develop ideas to help deliver more sustainable healthcare and, where possible, save the health board money.

Elana said: “I’ve been interested in sustainable practices and climate change for many years, but implementing it in my work has recently become more important than ever. I’ve become increasingly aware of the negative impact of healthcare on the environment, and the impact of anaesthesia and surgery in particular. 

PICTURED: Elana Owen is making sustainable changes throughout Swansea Bay's theatres.

“It started with a foil tray! Every time I set up medications for a patient I would have multiple foil trays – similar to takeaway containers - to put syringes in. After every patient we’d discard these containers into the clinical waste bin.

“Something just clicked in me at that point that we could change this and be more savvy and kinder to the environment.

“I suggested that we used reusable plastic trays, and it snowballed from there. We worked out that we only needed to use the plastic trays 13 times to break even, without compromising on cleanliness or patient safety.

“That was the driver for me. After that, it was a case of what else can we do?”

Elana delivers care to patients undergoing both emergency and elective surgery. She has the benefit of working with many different specialities and departments, and hopes this can help her link up sustainability projects across these areas. 

Delivering and embedding sustainable healthcare has provided several challenges so far, but Elana believes there is scope for positive change.

Work to make these changes come whilst the United Nations’ climate change summit – known as ‘Conference of the Parties’ (COP), is held between November 11-22.

Elana said: “Introducing more sustainable healthcare practices can sometimes be quite challenging.

“But one thing the pandemic has shown us is that we can change our ways of working. This is a good opportunity to do that in healthcare, but this time from a climate perspective rather than a Covid perspective.

“We have the ability to do it because we’ve done it in certain ways already. We just need to shift our focus.

“One of the particularly challenging areas is investment. The health board’s solar farm is a brilliant example of that – it cost money to set up, but it will make huge savings in energy and costs as time goes by.

PICTURED: Elana with fellow Consultant Anaesthetist Christine Range (left) and Gemma Hale, Operating Department Practitioner.

“An additional benefit that comes from working more sustainably is that it can often come with financial savings. These gains can then potentially be reinvested in something else to improve healthcare for our patients.”

The appointment of three sustainable clinical leads adds to the health board’s commitment to reducing emissions and supporting Welsh Government’s ambition to have a Net Zero Public Sector by 2030.

Elana is joined in the roles by Sue West-Jones, Emergency Department Consultant and Alexandra Strong, Jill Rowe Neurology Ambulatory Unit Manager.

Elana is also a founding member of the Swansea Bay Green Group - a staff-led group created to help tackle the climate crisis and make the NHS in the region more environmentally friendly.

Making positive changes within the NHS, she says, can also boost staff morale.

Elana said: “Staff have a lot to gain from the health board operating more sustainably – it’s not easy, but it’s very rewarding.

“Positive change can boost morale and staff wellbeing by doing things to help us reduce our carbon footprint.

“We weren’t really talking about the impact of healthcare on the environment a few years ago in the way we are now, so that in itself is a positive change.

“We are aiming to give staff the confidence to start projects in their departments, which can then inspire others to do the same.

“This role gives me the time to encourage and support staff to make positive change in the way we carry out our work. We’re currently looking at lots of different areas where we can improve our carbon footprint – from anaesthetic gases to waste management, changes in our prescribing practice, as well as the equipment we use.

PICTURED: Elana along with fellow Sustainable Clinical Lead Alexandra Strong outside Morriston Hospital.

“One area we are looking at is single use equipment. We used to reuse a lot of our equipment, but we now rely much more heavily on disposable items.

“We are now looking at changing to reusable alternatives and providing a circular economy – reducing waste by reusing and recycling materials for as long as possible. This is a great opportunity for different departments to collaborate too, and I’m fortunate to be able to take advantage of this in my new role.  

“If we can implement these kinds of changes now, it can make a big impact in the future.”