Helping nurses learn about sustainable glove use
By Gemma Raw
Is it more important to protect your hands or safeguard the planet? If you’ve been wondering how to use non-sterile disposable gloves sensibly and sustainably, don’t worry. There’s an online resource to help.
PPE is a vital tool in infection and contamination control. However, it’s also a threat to the environment. Millions of discarded items pile up in landfill every year. They can take a very long time to degrade and, as they do, they can release potentially toxic substances into the surrounding environment.
What’s more, however carefully synthetic materials used in manufacturing are handled, a certain amount can end up being lost into the environment, either during transportation or processing. They can pollute our rivers and oceans, compromising ecosystems and posing an extreme risk to birds, fish and other aquatic creatures.
NHS staff use a staggering 1.4 billion disposable gloves each year. As well as the issue of environmental pollution, the manufacturing of these gloves contributes to global emissions. Therefore, reducing the use of disposable gloves could play a significant role in helping the NHS reduce its carbon footprint and achieve its aim of delivering a net zero healthcare system.
Online resource for nurses and other healthcare staff
To help nurses and other NHS staff use disposable gloves more sustainably, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), in collaboration with nursing staff and NHS England, has designed the Non-sterile Disposable Glove Use Fundamentals resource. It’s an online course which teaches the principles and practice of sustainable glove use, such as why and when you need to wear gloves, as well as giving insights into the skin health issues related to glove use.
The course has four different modules and includes step-by-step guides and scenario videos, as well as printable resources. Participants can collaborate and share information with others to reduce inappropriate glove use and better care for their skin.
A skin-friendly biodegradable alternative
Gloves made of natural rubber biodegrade 100 times faster than those made with synthetic materials. However, many nurses and other healthcare staff can’t use natural rubber gloves because the proteins they contain can cause skin allergies.
In 2020, research by Cranfield University showed that a revised manufacturing process could deliver savings of up to 50% in time and energy, as well as modifying the formulation of the material to deactivate the naturally occurring proteins within the latex.
The University is now investigating how the natural latex raw material can be modified to rapidly enhance the biodegradability of natural rubber gloves. The team is also working closely with leading manufacturer Meditech Gloves to ensure that their findings can rapidly be applied to the real world and provide healthcare staff with a skin-friendly alternative to natural rubber biodegradable gloves.
