Improving day case rates for bladder tumour surgery could help reduce NHS carbon footprint, study shows

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May 30

Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) - May 2023

Increasing day case rates for bladder tumour surgery has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and help the NHS achieve its ambition of net zero by the year 2040, according to a new study published in a European journal.

In a collaboration between NHS England's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and Greener NHS programmes, the study demonstrates a trend towards more day surgery for the urological procedure transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT – the 'gold-standard' operation used to treat patients with bladder cancer), from 13% of all TURBT operations in England performed as day-case in 2013/14 to 31% in 2021/22.

While offering the same high standard of care for patients, TURBT day surgery offers a lower carbon footprint than the same surgery performed during an inpatient stay*, meaning the total estimated carbon saving of the year-on-year increase in day-case rates equates to 2.9 million Kg CO₂e – enough to power 2,716 homes for a year.

The study concludes that reducing existing variation in day case rates between trusts could further reduce carbon emissions; for example, there was the potential for carbon savings of 217,599 Kg CO₂e in the financial year 2021/22 – the equivalent of enough power for 198 homes for a year – if all NHS trusts had met the day case rates for TURBT being achieved by the top 25% of trusts**.

Further information - Improving day case rates for bladder tumour surgery could help reduce NHS carbon footprint, study shows

Potential carbon savings with day-case compared to inpatient transurethral resection of bladder tumour surgery in England is published in May 2023 in European Urology Open Science.

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