A PROSPECTIVE RESEARCH STUDY ON EXCESS WATER USAGE DUE TO THE CONVENTIONAL SCRUBBING TECHNIQUE IN SOUTH AFRICAN STATE HOSPITALS alvindrabile@gmail.com

PW07-01

A PROSPECTIVE RESEARCH STUDY ON EXCESS WATER USAGE DUE TO THE CONVENTIONAL SCRUBBING TECHNIQUE IN SOUTH AFRICAN STATE HOSPITALS

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South Africa

Oral or Poster

South Africa is a third world country with resource and financial limitations within the healthcare system. This study aims to investigate the volume of water used during the “conventional scrubbing process” in South African State hospitals. This study is relevant due to the widespread water scarcity in South Africa and the global drive towards sustainability as set out by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The operating theatres of one South African academic hospital were used. A prospective, cross-sectional study design was adopted for this study. Consultants, registrars, and scrub nurses working in five surgical departments were included. Anaesthesiologists scrubbing for a spinal blockade were excluded. There were no restrictions on age, gender or ethnicity. The following variables were measured: the specific water flow-rate for each scrub (litres/second), the total scrubbing time (seconds) and the rinsing time (seconds). With these variables, the volume of water used in-between hand rinsing was calculated – which equates to the excess water usage.

One-way ANOVA, means and standard deviations were used to compare the numerical variables. The mean total scrubbing-time was also compared to the WHO recommended scrubbing time of 4min using one-sample t-tests.

This study offers the opportunity for improvements to be made to current scrubbing practices in South African State Hospitals – either through water-saving strategies or alternative techniques which offer similar efficacy to conventional scrubbing. It highlights the volume of excess water usage that the healthcare system generates and its negative impact on South Africa’s carbon footprint and healthcare budget.