Speakers
The Association of Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine
Climate change is the greatest challenge facing the planet and the healthcare sector is directly responsible for approximately 5% of the total CO2 emissions of the United Kingdom. Laboratory testing is vital and most patients interacting with healthcare will be tested. These are performed in huge numbers; the NHS processes over 1 billion tests annually in England alone. More than half of this carbon is indirectly associated with the use of consumable items, such as single-use plastics that are required for these tests.
The NHS has set an ambitious target to be completely carbon neutral by 2045. This means that it needs to vastly reduce its energy consumption and change how it works. Laboratories, who largely manage these tests, consume a lot of energy, water, and single-use plastics, and generate vast amounts of waste. Testing extends far beyond the laboratory. The whole process spans from the decision to perform the test in the first place, taking the sample, transporting it to where it will be tested, the testing itself, the interpretation and action of the results, and of course the vast amounts of waste generated along the way.
The microbiology laboratory at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals established The Microbiology Greens (The MG’s) to set about making our service more sustainable. We participated in a pilot of LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) from University College London. This provided a clear framework so that we could target our efforts on educating our team, and reducing waste and energy consumption. We also undertook a diagnostic stewardship project to reduce the processing of inappropriate samples.
Rob is a Consultant Clinical Scientist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. He has broad experience in clinical microbiology and is the departmental lead for research, and the pathology lead for clinical audit. He is an honorary research associate at University College London, and his research interests have included tuberculosis, including completing a PhD in the field of molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as other papers in the areas of laboratory diagnostics, and viral haemorrhagic fevers.
His current interests include diagnostic stewardship and environmental sustainability. He is also the current Chair of the Microbiology Professional Committee of the ACB.