17 March 2022
Our maternity departments are helping to protect the planet by cracking down on greenhouse gases.
We’ll be using new tech to purify 99% of the nitrous oxide (N2O) exhaled by women who use Entonox ‘gas and air’ pain relief during labour - currently one of our most polluting sources of emissions.
Special valves on Entonox handsets will direct the N2O to a machine that breaks it down into harmless nitrogen and oxygen – minimising damage to the environment and creating a safer space for our patients and staff.
They are being introduced on our labour wards and in our birthing centres at Wexham Park and Frimley Park Hospitals in spring 2022.
The NHS is responsible for about 4% of the UK’s carbon emissions – and 5% of those come from anaesthetic gases such as Entotox.
Emma Luhr, director of midwifery, said: “By virtually eliminating the production of nitrous oxide in this way, we are creating a safer space for mothers during labour and helping to protect the environment their babies will grow up in.”
The initiative is the latest step in our Green Plan – our strategy to become a carbon net-zero organisation by 2040.
Launched in November 2021, the Green Plan puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do, from the design of our new Heatherwood Hospital with its large solar farm and green roof to our large electric pool car fleet which reduces our carbon emissions by up to 20 tonnes annually.
For more information on the implementation of this new technology, please contact Head of Sustainability Sarah Taylor: sarah.taylor223@nhs.net