‘Gloves Off’ campaign to help King’s go greener

Did you know that in 2021/22, the amount of disposable gloves used at the Trust was equivalent to 1,247 tonnes of carbon emissions?

As part of our efforts to create a Greener King’s, our Infection Prevention and Control team will be launching a new campaign to encourage staff to reduce unnecessary usage of disposable gloves, and also reduce the risk of cross-infection when caring for patients.

A key element of the campaign is to remind staff that there are lots of clinical tasks when you don’t need to wear gloves. These include:

• Taking patient observations
• Using electronic devices such as computers and iPads
• Making beds (in the absence of body fluids)
• Bathing/dressing patient (unless visible body fluids).

Click here to see the full checklist to make sure you’re only using gloves when it’s clinically necessary.

Ashley Flores, Director of Infection Prevention and Control, said: “By making sure we’re using gloves only when they’re needed, we can all do our bit to help the environment. There are obvious clinical benefits too, with the overuse of non-sterile gloves linked with the potential for cross-contamination and transmission of infections. We also know that wearing gloves can cause skin problems for some staff.

“Our team will be distributing our checklist posters to wards and areas across the Trust soon. We hope staff will get involved with the campaign and as always, remember to practice good hand hygiene to keep us all safe from infections.”

For more information, please contact Ashley.Flores@nhs.net.

 

 

 

 

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