Reducing the Environmental Impact of Hospital Curtains
Lead Research Organisation:
Brunel University London
Department Name: Brunel Design School
Abstract
'As agreed with AHRC please see the Case for Support attachment for the full application information'
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Gabriella Spinelli (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | Disposable Hospital curtains are the largest single use plastic product in the NHS NHS Trust waste management policy do not align in full with DEFRA and NHS guidance The procurement of disposable curtains is inconsistent and dependant on supplier availability rather than standards related to Infection prevention and control. This is in contradiction with the rationale that has led to replacing washable curtains with disposable curtains, e.g., an alleged higher IPC performance |
| Exploitation Route | Post award the team has been awarded internal (Brunel) funds to undertake a microbiology study to test the aleged superior IPC performance of disposable curtains. This study took place in 2022 and, after my extended period of sick leave, we are now preparing a publication for the Journal of Responsible Innovation. |
| Sectors | Healthcare |
| Description | The award was helpful in identifying two key findings that were helpful to the Sustainability team in Guy's and St Thomas NHS Trust: - pro-environmental values are really high among staff members - the organisational decision making to switch to disposable single use plastic curtains was not guided by scientific (literature or lab test) or empirical (local test in the Trust) evidence. - the procurement of disposable curtains is not consistent within the Trust, leading to the purchase of different type of disposable curtains (manufactured in the UK and abroad, hence with a much higher carbon foot print) and having differing antimicrobial properties (hence not all consistently performing against the priority criterion of alleged higher IPC performance that disposable curtains were assumed to have) |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Clinical evaluation of the sustainable hospital curtains solution in Harefield Hospital |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We present the result of the study to Harefield Hospital and we run a 12 weeks evaluation of different types of curtains in two wards in Harefield hospital. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Consortium of academic and NHS Trusts to prepare a proposal for Decarbonising the health and social care systems (NIHR) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A number of events has taken place to consider the outcomes of the completed research and prepare for a wider research engagement with two NHS Trust, a med tech company and a number of academics to consider a proposal to NIHR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |