TPCH halts nitrous oxide use in anaesthetic practices to reduce emissions

The hospital decommissioned the use of reticulated nitrous oxide anaesthetic gas in its practice.

The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH) in Australia has announced its initiative to decommission the use of reticulated nitrous oxide (N2O) anaesthetic gas as part of its initiative to reduce healthcare emissions.

The hospital has partnered with Green Metro North to halt the use of its reticulated systems and seal its valves.

“the anaesthetics team had transitioned away from using nitrous oxide and was in a position of being able to decommission reticulated N2O without compromising patient care.” Mary O’Shea, an anaesthetist at TPCH, said.

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“Although nitrous oxide is a safe anaesthetic gas, it is prone to leaking from piped infrastructure even when the reticulation system is well serviced and maintained,” O’Shea added.

Whilst anaesthetic gases make up 5% of total healthcare emissions, nitrous oxide comprises 75% of the emissions from these gasses, TPCH said.