Project Aims to Reduce Anesthetic Gases and Narcotic Drugs

Prof. Dr. Ali Fuat Erdem stated that within the scope of their "Green Operating Room" project prepared in the fight against the climate crisis, they aim to reduce gas usage in operating rooms, as well as the use of anesthetic gases and anesthetic drugs. According to a statement from the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation (TARD), Chairman Prof. Dr. Erdem, speaking at a meeting organized by TARD on the occasion of "16 October World Anaesthesia Day," said that the society accepted the Glasgow Declaration of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) in 2023 within the framework of combating the climate crisis, and that as anesthesia specialists, they demonstrated their resolve on 14 July 2021 when Turkey became a party to measures addressing the climate crisis. Erdem noted that they pledge to work diligently to halt the climate crisis, which is the primary cause of all disasters such as droughts and floods, and stated that their colleagues are determined to leave future generations a clean and habitable world by reducing the effects of anesthetic gases and medical waste in operating rooms on global warming and raising awareness of reducing carbon footprint. Erdem provided the following information: "The total greenhouse gas emission impact of anesthetic drugs, which the EU targets to reduce by 25 percent by 2030 in combating climate change, is approximately 2 percent. Operating room waste also accounts for 20 percent of all hospital medical waste. By 2050, it is targeted to achieve climate neutrality through effective efforts."

Stating that the society has a "Green Operating Room" project in this context, Erdem continued as follows:

"As part of a project being implemented for the first time in Turkey, our primary objective is to protect patient health and safety alongside reducing environmentally harmful practices. Operating rooms and intensive care units are the lifeline of every hospital. The highest consumption and interaction also occurs there. The materials, gases, anesthetic drugs and similar items used during these operations contribute to patient health but also have negative effects on the environment. Within the project scope, gas usage in operating rooms will be minimized, training will continue to be conducted to inform and raise awareness among physicians nationwide, patient and worker safety will be prioritized at the highest level and practices related to reducing the use of anesthetic gases and anesthetic drugs will be implemented. Additionally, procedures to be established for energy conservation and waste management are already prepared." Source