Original story posted on oneVCH (internal website) by VCH Communications.
Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) is the first hospital in B.C. to implement an anesthetic gas scavenging system.
Installed in VGH’s basement, this system captures waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) and stores them in tanks, preventing their release into the atmosphere. This was part of phase one of the VGH Operating Room Renewal Project, which featured 16 state-of-the-art operating rooms and a 40-bay pre-operative and post-recovery area.
Anesthetic gas scavenging is a crucial aspect of hospital infrastructure that supports environmental sustainability by capturing and safely disposing of WAGs. If not properly managed, these gases can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. By integrating these scavenging systems into the hospital’s ventilation and gas delivery networks, health-care facilities can significantly reduce their environmental footprint.
Since fall 2021, the captured anesthetics at VGH are equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 7,504 tree seedlings growing for ten years, taking 100 passenger cars off the road for 6,388 kilometers, or saving 287 barrels of oil.
Vancouver Coastal Health is committed to embedding planetary health principles, from business practices to managing facilities and delivering care. This approach emphasizes reducing the climate impact of the health system, particularly through lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and protecting the natural environment by reducing resource use and depletion. By collaborating with partners and teams from sustainable clinical services, public health, and energy and environmental sustainability, we are dedicated to delivering resilient and environmentally sustainable care for the health of people, places, and the planet.
