We know the inappropriate use of single use disposable gloves is detrimental to both patient care and the environment. Gloves are no substitute for handwashing or hand gel, and sometimes when gloves are worn people forget to wash in between, or touch lots of different surfaces with them. This increases the risk of spreading germs.

This is why we’re promoting a simple message of ‘Gloves Off’ to staff, unless they are dealing with blood, bodily fluids or hazardous chemicals. To help staff, we need you, the public, to be supportive too.

Colleagues across NHS Grampian used more than 34 million disposable gloves during the financial year 2023/24. The total carbon footprint of these gloves was estimated to be the equivalent of over 889,190 kg CO₂. This could provide enough electricity to power 2,500 homes for a month, based on UK average electricity consumption.

Small changes by lots of people add up, so our Infection Prevention and Control team have been working alongside waste management, quality improvement, health and safety, domestic and procurement colleagues since summer 2023 to review and reduce glove use across the organisation. They achieved a 6.7% reduction in the number of gloves used in their first year of engaging with staff and their work is  recognised as an example of best practice for others to follow across Scotland.

Infection, Prevention and Control Manager, Grace Johnston explains: “As healthcare professionals we’re very risk aware, we’re often weighing things up as we go and continually putting safety first. The use of gloves increased during the pandemic and we now need to go back to a much more measured approach of carefully deciding, when delivering care or carrying out tasks, whether we really need to use gloves.

“Excessive wearing of gloves can result in skin damage. Every time gloves are worn moisture and warmth develop on the skin of the hands. This creates an ideal environment for bacteria to grow, and no one wants to grow bacteria on their hands! This bacteria can be transferred to others if hands are not washed or gelled immediately after use. There are so many benefits to reducing glove waste – impacting positively on the environment too, which in turn supports better public health – and we hope everyone can get behind us.”

Gloves Off is a campaign supported by NHS Education Scotland and their Infection, Prevention and Control Education team. Its principles are embedded in the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and staff can find out more on our intranet pages (internal devices only).

Tackling climate change presents an opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, by reducing health harms and health inequalities. Find out more about NHS Grampian’s Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy (pdf)

 

 

Published: 03/10/2024 09:20