Developing sustainable surgical practices to meet NHS Net-Zero targets through equipment rationalisation

This PhD is an exciting opportunity to develop sustainable surgical practice, working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and industry partner B Braun to target NHS 'carbon net-Zero' goals. The NHS contributes 5% of UK carbon-equivalent emissions but must achieve 'net-Zero' by 2045. Currently a major carbon (and cost) burden is sterilisation of surgical instrument sets. The PhD will develop, evaluate and disseminate systematic methods to optimise surgical equipment sets and thus reduce the carbon footprint of surgery in the NHS. The approach will use a mixed-methods approach; data-analytics on sterilisation-services data-streams will identify focal points and options for rationalisation for exploration in human-factors studies conducted in 'SUSTAIN' (a new DHSC-funded facility for sustainable-surgery simulation) to evaluate their cost, environmental and clinical impact. The research will develop publications and case-studies for DHSC and international surgical associations, and will be translated into CPD-accredited training for NHS healthcare professionals through Leeds HealthTech Research Centre.