Anaesthesia 2024 podcast - Sustainability
In this second podcast recorded at the RCoA's Anaesthesia 2024 conference in Glasgow Drs Helgi Johannsson, Lucy Brooks, and Paul Southall discuss the latest developments in sustainable anaesthesia.
They look at the NHS's decomissioning of desflurane, use of nitrous oxide, masks and gowns, and the importance of local leadership and advocacy in making positive, sustainable change.
Further information
Dr Helgi Johannsson was born in Iceland and moved to the UK in 1984. He qualified from St Bartholomew’s hospital medical school and has been a consultant at Imperial NHS since 2007. He was college tutor, clinical director, associate medical director, and has been on RCOA council since 2018 and Vice-President for two years.
He is passionate about sustainability and equality, and is the RCOA’s sustainability lead.
Dr Brooks is an Anaesthetic Specialty Trainee (ST4) in West Yorkshire. Her interests are in sustainable healthcare, planetary health, and medical ethics. In 2023, she completed a Leadership Fellowship in Climate Change and Anaesthesia, as part of the Future Leaders Programme.
Lucy has taught extensively on the topic of sustainable anaesthesia and sustainable healthcare to a wide range of healthcare professionals, and has participated in panels on the subject of sustainable healthcare, including for the National Health Executive and The Kings Fund. She is currently appointed to the Royal College of Anaesthetists Environment Advisory Group.
Dr Southall has been interested in sustainability in healthcare since he was an anaesthetist in training. After obtaining a consultant post, he began working on small sustainability projects within theatres, before becoming the clinical sustainability lead for the trust and taking on the wider sustainability issues that every Trust faces in the UK. This has subsequently lead to regional and national work on sustainability.
Paul was appointed as an Environmental Advisor to the College in 2023 and – along with the other advisors – is now tackling some of the big issues and concerns that are facing our speciality. His main sub-focus at present is on the impact of healthcare on water and ocean health.