CTEC – Cairns Theatres Enviromental Committee
A multidisciplinary group of doctors, nurses, anaesthetic assistants, wardies and pharmacists working toward reducing the environmental burden of peri-operative care at Cairns Hospital and the Cairns and Hinterland Health Service
Our achievements to date include:
- CTEC was the first enviromental committee to be established within Cairns Hospital
- Instituting the change from single use to reusable hovermatts for patient transfers reducing cost and waste
- Introduction of Pharmasmart sharps bins to comply with legislation and reduce enviromental contamination from drug disposal
- Planning towards the establishment of a hospital wide clinical metal recycling waste stream
- Change to procurement choice of laparoscopic port type to reduce waste and cost
- Awareness campaign of excessive blanket use in the operating theatres and reduction of volume sent to laundry
- Awareness campaign to reduce the utilization of single use blueys and the alternatives available
- Review and changes to the content of operating theatres packs to remove items that are rarely needed
- Engagement with an external industry provider to remove and recycle our plastic waste
- Research and clarification to staff as to what we should and should not be sending to commingled recycling
- Regular auditing of our single use equipment and education to staff of suggested changes to practice
- Change from sugarcane (not recyclable) single use kidney dishes to a recyclable cardboard option
- Complete removal of desflurane anaesthetic gas from clinical care at Cairns Hospital & Hinterland Health Service
- Working towards decommissioning of the piped nitrous oxide system in Cairns Hospital to prevent leaks
- Campaigning for the employment of an environmental sustainability officer for the health service
- Partnering with industry to establish a PVC waste recycling stream for the health service