Painkiller switch could save £10,000 a year

Using oral paracetamol instead of intravenous (IV) is improving patient care, reducing carbon emissions and saving money at a local hospital Trust.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, is now prescribing oral paracetamol in place of IV paracetamol for some surgical procedures.

Oral paracetamol is a less invasive form of pain control which has proven to be equally as effective as IV, whilst also helping to make significant waste reductions and cost savings.

It is now being used for all types of surgical procedures in the Planned Care Hub in Telford. Using oral paracetamol for all elective surgical cases in the Hub could save £10,000 and 1.5 tonnes of carbon per year.

A group of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses at the Trust, including Dr Vivek Eli, Consultant Anaesthetist and Ms Blossom Lake, Breast Surgical Specialist, helped lead this quality improvement project.

Vivek said: “Whilst working in the new Planned Care Hub at PRH, we noticed that many patients were receiving IV paracetamol when oral paracetamol tablets would be just as effective.

“Paracetamol is one of the most widely prescribed drugs and many studies have shown that it is equally as effective when given orally compared to the intravenous route, with no adverse impact on patients.”

Blossom said: “Using paracetamol in this way can reduce the amount of waste we produce and save our hospitals money at the same time. There is a lot of non-recyclable plastic packaging for IV paracetamol compared with oral paracetamol, where one small blister pack contains multiple doses.

“Working in healthcare, we are increasingly aware of our environmental impact, and this is an exciting opportunity for us to work in a more sustainable way.”

Dr Thasban Bhatt, one of doctors leading the initiative, recently presented the results at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

He said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to present this work at a national conference – the feedback we have received from peers has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive.

“We are really pleased with the positive results we’ve seen so far, and it shows how small changes can have a big impact.”

Dr Jenni Rowlands, Deputy Medical Director, said: “I would like to thank the team for leading and embracing this change whilst ensuring our healthcare practice is high quality and sustainable.

“If a small change in practice can reduce our footprint by 1.5 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of one family’s electricity usage for a year or over 450,000 smartphone charges – imagine what impact other changes could bring.

“We are determined to keep making improvements so that we can provide the best possible care for our patients, and this work is a great example of that.”