Kick-off Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab 'Sustainable Hospitals'

Of the total Dutch carbon footprint, 7% is generated by the healthcare sector, including emissions from energy consumption, medicines and travel. Moreover, hospitals produce a lot of waste, 20-30% of which comes from the operating theatres. Pollution increases with the use of new technologies and materials. That is why Medical Delta and the LDE Centre for Sustainability launch the Thesis Lab 'Sustainable Hospitals' for master's students which revolves around the question: how do we move towards an environmentally sustainable hospital?

The kick-off of the four LDE Thesis Labs on sustainability will take place on 9 February. The participating students will get to know each other and officially start their research. The Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab 'Sustainable Hospitals' of Medical Delta has eleven participants from the universities in Leiden, Delft, Rotterdam and Twente. The students come from different majors, like Industrial Ecology, Biomedical Engineering and Global Business and Sustainability. Together, they study sustainability from various angles. Examples of research assignments include sustainable and patient-safe treatment, reusing medical instruments in the operating theatre, and the implementation of green initiatives in healthcare management and organisation.

Direct impact on sustainable hospital care

Over the next five months, the students will have lectures, excursions and meetings with stakeholders, allowing the students to exchange ideas with each other and with experts. The research results will be made available in the form of practical solutions for healthcare professionals, scientists, doctors and/or patients, allowing the graduates to have a direct impact on making hospital care more sustainable.

"New insights from young researchers on this topic are desperately needed to make healthcare more sustainable," says Medical Delta chairman Prof. Dr. Frank Willem Jansen, also chairman of the national network Groene OK (green operation room). "Many healthcare professionals want to take action and sustainability is on the agenda of hospital boards as well. They can benefit from Sustainable Hospitals Thesis Lab studies. Not only as chairman, but also as a surgical specialist, I am looking forward to applying or implementing the results myself."

More information about the studies can be found on the webpage of the Thesis Lab.