Sussex Orthopaedic Treatment Centre receives national award

Sussex Orthopaedic Treatment Centre (SOTC) based at Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, are the joint recipient of the Sustainability Partnership of the Year award for their green study that cut carbon footprint, reduced costs, and saved time for more than 1,000 patients.

The national Sustainability Partnership Awards are dedicated to showcasing the organisations and NHS Trusts that have proven to be striving to implement sustainable change within the healthcare sector and who are truly driving a greener future for the NHS.

Last year, the University Hospitals Sussex team were granted funding to pioneer the creation of a green digital pathway for elective orthopaedic surgery patients within the SOTC.

The pathway for patients who need orthopaedic surgery can typically include frequent hospital visits, long commutes to and from appointments both before and after surgery and hundreds of pages of patient information.

Professor Benedict Rogers, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon said: “I am delighted to accept this award, which highlights the impact changes in patient pathways can make to the carbon footprint of healthcare.

“The department of orthopaedics at UHSussex is pushing hard to improve the sustainability of surgical practice, and this award is a recognition of the improvement made to date. We hope to further reduce the environmental impact of surgery by the ongoing collaboration of local, regional, and national partners and I would like to thank my colleagues who continue to contribute so much to this work."

As part of UHSussex’s ‘Patient First Planet First’ green agenda, the goal for the Trust was to reduce the need for face-to-face visits from referrals to leaving hospital, to take the patient journey from paper to digital and look at the carbon footprint savings at the end of the six-month project – from start to virtual ward. Collaborating with Definition Health, which provide preoperative digital solutions to support hospitals to increase capacity whilst reducing their carbon footprint, this sustainable pathway enabled patients to complete most of their surgical pathway from the comfort of their home.

The study achieved:

• More than 80% patients satisfied with their experience and expressing how important being at home was to them.
• Reduced unnecessary trips to hospital, with 24,000 miles of travel avoided (6t of CO2), no car park costs and reduced wear and tear on vehicles.
• Reduced nearly 60,000 pages of information through the digital delivery of patient information.
• 7.6 tonnes CO2 saved.
• Increased clinical capacity by 40%.

By digitising the patient pathway, patients could complete and deliver their information to the hospital electronically, patient information was visible to the clinical teams for triage and appointments could be made when appropriate, as well as follow-up care through the virtual recovery ward.

Dr Rosie Scott, co-founder of Definition Health said: “As co-founder, I'm proud to accept the NHS award for Sustainability Partnership of the Year, in collaboration with our valued partners at University Hospitals Sussex. This award recognises and highlights the outstanding work of both the teams at Definition Health and University Hospitals Sussex, demonstrating our shared commitment to advancing sustainability within the NHS.

“Together, we're playing a vital role in driving towards the NHS's net zero goals, leveraging our innovative end-to-end surgical solution to reduce carbon emissions and enhance operational efficiency. Through our collaborative efforts, we believe we have set a powerful example for sustainable healthcare practices nationwide.”

SOTC is now set to increase its use of more sustainable, digital resources by introducing a new electronic notes system, to further reduce the use of paper and better manage clinical information.