N20 reduction Dunedin Hospital NZ

Please see attached graph. Back in 2016 we used 308 G sized cylinders in our reticulated/piped/manifold N20 network. The hospital and N20 reticulation system are old and date from the 1950's. This amount of N20 was equivalent to 3400 tonnes of carbon dioxide and was an outlier result compared to other hospitals in NZ. Since then we have pressure tested the pipe network which was negative. We then tested the wall outlets and found some evidence of leaking so all the seals in the wall outlets in our main operating theatres have since been replaced. We have had a massive drop in N20 use with no change in clinical use. We now only use 56 G sized cylinders per annum. So if you have a reticulated N20 network it may be worth talking to your facilities team about what preventative maintenance they are doing. Also please email "thenitrousoxideproject" if you are wanting info on reducing waste from reticulated N20 systems in the UK/NHS context.

Matt Jenks, anaesthetist, Duendin hospital