Hospital: Royal Victoria Infirmary
Newcastle Hospitals become first in the UK to use climate-friendly gas and air during labour
Newcastle mum Kaja Gersinska has become the first person in the UK to use climate-friendly pain relief during labour after giving birth at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary in September 2021.
Entonox, also known as gas and air, is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen and has been used to provide pain relief for women in labour for over a hundred years.
However, nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas, almost 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and escapes into the atmosphere after being exhaled by a patient.
The technology, developed by Medclair, is widely used in Sweden and collects the exhaled nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, and ‘cracks’ it into nitrogen and oxygen which are harmless.
The MDU purifies 99.6% of the nitrous oxide entering the unit and as well having a huge benefit to the environment it also benefits staff by reducing the amount of nitrous oxide they are exposed to while they work.
“Rolling this technology out across our maternity unit can help us to continue to support women to use gas and air during labour, whilst making it as environmentally friendly as possible.”
Newcastle Hospitals is well known for its award winning Shine (Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle) programme and was the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency, in recognition that the climate emergency is a health emergency. The Trust is also committed to the ambitious goal of becoming a net-zero carbon organisation by 2030.
“Our use of Entonox (gas and air) is by far the biggest contributor to our anaesthetic gas carbon footprint and in adopting this innovative technology we will see thousands of tonnes of carbon saved (or the equivalent annual carbon emissions of 150 UK citizens).”
An Award-winning Technology
RVI’s adoption of Medclair’s technology has yielded benefits for all stakeholders:
Patients: Women in labor now have access to safe and effective pain relief options.
Healthcare Staff: Improved workplace safety through controlled nitrous oxide handling.
The Environment: A significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, setting an example for hospitals nationwide.
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