LONDON: Scotland has become the first country in the world to ban the use of the anaesthetics desflurane due to its harmful impact on the environment, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
“Desflurane, used as an anaesthetics during the surgery, has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide.
“Removing it from use in hospital theatres across NHS Scotland saves emissions equivalent to powering 1,700 homes every year,” the Scottish government said in a statement.
Meanwhile, more than 40 hospital trusts in England and a number of hospitals in Wales are cutting down on usage.
The work was led by clinicians who have moved away from using desflurane in favour of more clinically appropriate and safe alternatives that have less environmental impact.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Humza Yousaf said: “I am immensely proud that we have become the first nation in the UK to stop using environmentally harmful anesthetics in our NHS.
“This programme is key to our transition to becoming a net-zero health service while ensuring patient safety remains at the heart of every clinical decision,” he added.
Kenneth Barker, clinical lead for the National Green Theatres Programme, also commented on the issue, saying: “Theatres are high-carbon and energy-intensive areas that produce high volumes of waste, so reducing the environmental impact of theatres will make a positive difference towards achieving Scotland’s net-zero targets.”
He added that NHS Scotland has an ambitious target of being net-zero for anaesthetic gases by 2027, and the removal of desflurane is just the first step towards this. – BERNAMA
