Entries tagged with 'green nephrology'

Displaying entries 1 - 10 of 12 in total

  1. The carbon footprints of home and in-center maintenance hemodialysis in the United Kingdom

    CONNOR, A., LILLYWHITE, R. and COOKE, M. W. , Hemodialysis International (2011), doi: 10.1111/j.1542-4758.2010.00523.x The aim of this study was to determine the carbon footprints of the differing modalities and treatment regimes used to deliver maintenance hemodialysis (HD), in order to inform carbon reduction strategies at the level of both individual treatments and HD programs. Thrice weekly in-center HD has a carbon footprint of 3.8 ton CO2 Eq per patient per year. The majority of emissions arise within the medical equipment (37%), energy use (21%), and patient travel (20%) sectors. The carbon footprint of providing home HD varies with the regime.

    from SHEBA on 14 January 2011 | Direct link | Comment on this

  2. The Green Nephrology survey of sustainability in renal units in England, Scotland and Wales

    Connor, A. and Mortimer, F. (2010). Journal of Renal Care, 36: 153–160. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-6686.2010.00183.x he impact of unmitigated climate change upon global health is predicted to be disastrous. However, the very provision of healthcare itself has a significant environmental impact, and the contribution of kidney care to the carbon footprint of the NHS is likely to be disproportionately high. Furthermore, the current economic climate will ensure that healthcare systems face unprecedented reductions in resources (or, at the very least, diminished expansion in the face of ongoing increases in demand). Improvements in the way that renal services use resources will address both issues. This survey was designed to identify a baseline for sustainability in kidney care, to support a clinical transformation to lower carbon kidney care by identifying fruitful areas for attention, and to act as an educational tool. The survey identified measures for improvement across the different areas of the provision of kidney care, including…

    from SHEBA on 03 August 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  3. The Carbon Footprint of a Renal Service in the United Kingdom

    A. Connor, R. Lillywhite and MW. Cooke, QJM Advance Access published online on August 18, 2010. This study represents the first assessment of the carbon footprint of an individual specialty service to include both direct and indirect emissions.The Dorset Renal Service has a carbon footprint of 3006 tonnes CO2eq per annum, of which 381 tonnes CO2eq (13% of overall emissions) result from building energy use, 462 tonnes CO2eq from travel (15%) and 2163 tonnes CO2eq (72%) from procurement. These results suggest that carbon-reduction strategies focusing upon supply chain emissions are likely to yield the greatest benefits. Sustainable waste management and strategies to reduce emissions associated with building energy use and travel will also be important.

    from SHEBA on 18 August 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  4. Toward greener dialysis: a case study to illustrate and encourage the salvage of reject water

    A Connor, S Milne, A Owen, G Boyle, F Mortimer (2010). Journal of Renal Care, 36(2), 68-72. Climate change is now considered to be a major global public health concern. However, the very provision of health care itself has a significant impact upon the environment. Action must be taken to reduce this impact. Water is a precious and finite natural resource. Vast quantities of high-grade water are required to provide haemodialysis. The reverse osmosis systems used in the purification process reject approximately two-thirds of the water presented to them. Therefore, around 250 litres of 'reject water' result from the production of the dialysate required for one treatment. This good quality reject water is lost-to-drain in the vast majority of centres worldwide. Simple methodologies exist to recycle this water for alternative purposes. We describe here a case study of the only UK renal service we know to have implemented such water-saving methodologies.

    by Andy Connor on 19 May 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  5. Driving round in circles

    by Andy Connor on 13 January 2010 | Comment on this

  6. Going green saves money in kidney care

    by Frances Mortimer on 10 July 2010 | Comment on this

  7. Clinical Transformation: The Key to Green Nephrology

    Andrew Connor, Frances Mortimer, Charles Tomson Nephron Clin Pract 2010;116:c200-c206 (DOI: 10.1159/000317200) Climate change represents a major global public health threat. The very provision of healthcare itself has a significant untoward effect on the environment, to which kidney care is likely to contribute disproportionately. In this article we describe the four principles we believe will underpin a successful transformation to lower carbon kidney care: disease prevention, patient empowerment, lean service delivery and the preferential use of low-carbon technologies. We illustrate their application and their co-benefits, such as improvements in patient care and reductions in cost, with examples.

    from SHEBA on 02 July 2010 | Download | Comment on this

  8. Case study and how-to guide: reduce, re-use, recycle in the dialysis unit

    The three case studies outlined here show that the principles most commonly used to underpin waste reduction strategies – reduce, reuse, recycle – can be successfully applied to renal units, and that financial savings can be made. Applying these strategies can be remarkably simple, and the repetitive nature of the dialysis treatments means that the benefits are continually accrued. The final part of this ‘How to…’ guide describes how to undertake a waste audit, which will allow individual units to identify where best to focus their attention. Green Nephrology programme 2009-10.

    from The Campaign for Greener Healthcare on 16 April 2010 | Download | Comment on this

  9. Case study and how-to guide: telephone clinics in follow-up of renal transplant recipients

    Renal units have traditionally used outpatient clinics to provide routine follow up to their transplanted patients, although the care required is often very simple and the patients typically feel well. The renal unit at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire has been successfully running a twice-monthly telephone clinic to provide follow up to these patients since 2006. Patients are offered the choice to remain in the traditional follow up system or switch to quarterly telephone clinic follow up, with just one annual traditional (‘face-to-face’) outpatient appointment at their local renal clinic. Green Nephrology programme 2009-10.

    from The Campaign for Greener Healthcare on 19 January 2010 | Download | Comment on this

  10. Case study and how-to guide: retrofit of heat-exchangers to haemodialysis machines

    Renal technicians at the Maidstone dialysis unit have investigated the potential costs and benefits of retro-fitting heat exchangers to their existing Braun Dialog+ haemodialysis machines. They calculated that an investment of £15,687 to fit heat exchangers to all 83 machines across the Kent and Canterbury renal service would deliver an annual saving of £3988.15 from reduced electricity consumption, with an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 22.6 Tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Green Nephrology programme 2009-2010.

    from The Campaign for Greener Healthcare on 12 January 2010 | Download | Comment on this