South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has installed an innovative new waste management system in theatres to make it safer for staff to dispose of surgical waste fluid whilst increasing efficiencies in the operating room.
The Stryker Neptune system can filter the collected fluid, enabling it to be disposed of to drain rather than being solidified in canisters and then put into infectious waste bags to be carried to the waste hold.
Steve Bell, environmental and sustainability lead and wastes manager and chair of the trust’s Greener NHS Group said: “Neptune has so many benefits. It bypasses the need for surgical waste fluid to be treated as a separate waste stream, eliminates risk of back injuries and improves our carbon footprint.”
Sarah Baker, service manager and head of nursing for peri-operative medicine and critical care said: “Neptune is the most innovative piece of equipment I have seen in 20 years, which is dedicated to not only patient safety but staff safety as well.”
“One of the main benefits which we saw immediately was that Neptune is a closed system, there is no exposure to irrigated bodily fluids. This benefited our infection control procedures. Theatres previously had to manoeuvre bags of fluid, urine and blood, and despite using solidifying gel, it was still a difficult process.
“The efficiencies we saw were significant, and Neptune allowed us to better utilise staff elsewhere."
Since installing the system at the trust, Sarah and Julie Clark, senior operating department practitioner, have presented at the European Operating Room Nurses Association (EORNA) in Norway about the benefits of using Neptune.