Training theatre promises greener, cutting-edge healthcare

Construction is underway on an operating theatre training space in Leeds, which is set to transform sustainable healthcare innovation and research.

SUSTAIN (Sustainability and Simulation Theatre for Academia and Industry) will be the only facility of its kind in the UK to deliver a brand-new, “as-real” simulated surgical space focused on sustainability and the development of sustainability pathways.

The space aims to accelerate progress towards a greener NHS and improve patient care and clinical decision-making, potentially leading to high-cost and carbon savings and creating a more efficient, resilient, and economical health service, aligned with the NHS 10-year plan.

Based at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI), this cutting-edge, simulation-based innovation space will focus on developing, testing, and scaling sustainable healthcare solutions; evaluating environmental impact alongside safety and efficiency; and increasing the uptake of future-proof practices in the NHS nationally. It will:

• Drive innovation in sustainable healthcare;
• Help the NHS meet Net Zero Carbon targets;
• Support the Government’s Greener NHS plan and Design for Life ambitions; and
• Enable the shift towards circular, reusable healthcare systems.

SUSTAIN is a collaborative project, led by the sustainability team and surgical care observatory at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care, in close partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, the University of Leeds and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), as part of the Design for Life programme, which focuses on developing efficient, resilient, less wasteful healthcare systems.

This project builds on the University’s strengths in sustainability, health technologies, behavioural change and civic engagement and highlights the power of interdisciplinary research and partnership-working in the city.

Located at the site of the original operating theatre above LGI’s Great George Street entrance, it will provide a next-generation training space for clinicians, researchers and organisations specialising in sustainable surgery and behaviour change interventions to develop new robust, resource‑efficient practices and accelerate their adoption in the NHS.

While 87% of NHS staff support the Net Zero ambition, some established surgical practices and technologies are not advancing this goal. In addition, one in five Trusts across the UK (21%) are not measuring their carbon footprint and don’t have a Net-Zero roadmap. DHSC’s Design for Life roadmap demonstrates the commitment to drive more efficiencies across the NHS and the SUSTAIN facility directly addresses these challenges by enabling real-world testing of how workforce behaviours and constraints can affect the implementation of eco-friendly interventions.

Reducing barriers

The “living lab” offers a unique opportunity for clinicians, researchers, and industry to trial innovations, procedures, behaviours and workflows in a realistic NHS environment, providing invaluable data and bringing them together with national policymakers to accelerate the adoption of ideas and enable joint research.

It also aims to accelerate industry collaboration and drive economic growth by reducing barriers for industry and early-stage innovators to explore solutions to creating a truly modern NHS. Currently, up to around 80% of healthcare technology projects fail to achieve successful adoption, scale, or sustainability.

The SUSTAIN facility will enable developers to work collaboratively with NHS partners to test such technologies in an “offline” environment, allowing better preparation for their integration into surgical environments. It will also identify and mitigate barriers ahead of technology procurement and adoption.

Funded by DHSC and NIHR Capital Investment, the £1.25 million setting will be a unique facility to deliver enhanced training, allowing its users to focus on human factors and behavioural change while supporting clinicians to develop and test new practices to enable these to be adopted.

The partnership with the DHSC also enables the rapid implementation and scaling of new practices, as proven innovations can be shared directly with the national Design for Life Team, NHS England, NHS Supply Chain, and more, who can quickly turn ideas into policy.

Pete Culmer, Professor of Healthcare Technologies in the School of Mechanical Engineering, and co-lead of the SUSTAIN facility, said: “What’s exciting about SUSTAIN is that it will allow us to address vital sustainability challenges facing healthcare systems like the NHS by bringing together clinicians, academic researchers and industry, to find ‘real-world’ solutions.

“Evidence shows there is significant potential to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare, while saving money and maintaining high standards of patient care, by optimising the system to improve efficiency and eliminate waste.”

Vee Mapunde, Co-Director at NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care, said: “The new SUSTAIN lab represents our commitment to bringing together cutting-edge research, clinical expertise and real-world solutions to benefit patients faster and more effectively and Leeds is the ideal place to do this.

“We’re incredibly proud of our well-established partnerships spanning leading universities, NHS, and NIHR infrastructure, which we are harnessing to test and embed sustainable solutions at scale, ensuring they deliver both environmental benefits and improved outcomes for patients.” 

Patient benefits

Craige Richardson, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Estates and Facilities at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust added: “We are one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, a centre for excellence for research and innovation, delivering specialised care across the region, which makes our hospital the ideal home for this next-generation simulated, surgical operating suite.  

“As a Trust, we’re already committed to embedding sustainability into everyday clinical, operational, and strategic decision-making, and the development of this lab, together with our partners, takes that a step further. SUSTAIN has been designed to provide advanced, simulation-based education for theatre teams which will benefit our patients as well as accelerate surgical technologies right across the NHS.”

Professor Cath Noakes, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds, said: “This project builds on the University’s strengths in sustainability, health technologies, behavioural change, and civic engagement and highlights the power of interdisciplinary research and partnership-working in the city.

“SUSTAIN research has the potential to transform surgical practice; using novel behavioural science methods to develop evidence-based behaviour change interventions to increase uptake of sustainable practices and technologies. Its robust data will enable accurate assessment of environmental impact, work-flow efficiency and health economics, supporting knowledge advancement and driving meaningful change at regional, national and global levels.” 

SUSTAIN has been designed to provide advanced, simulation-based education for theatre teams which will benefit our patients as well as accelerate surgical technologies right across the NHS.

David Lawson, Director of Medical Technology and Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “The Design for Life roadmap supports the Government’s vision for a more efficient, sustainable and resilient NHS, with the SUSTAIN lab in Leeds being one of the flagship projects.  

“This represents a fundamentally new approach, where testing the prototypes of cutting-edge products and services, undergoing training into their usage, and developing the most innovative forms of surgical practice can all be done within a single facility specialising in circular healthcare.  

“It offers a unique opportunity for industry, identifying and supporting early-stage innovators with promising solutions and helping to bridge from demonstration to adoption. We’re excited to see partners work collaboratively to build a truly modern NHS and call on the medtech industry to engage with the lab where they see opportunities to work together.” 

DHSC continues to work collaboratively with partners in the city on a variety of programmes and innovations through the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub, with Leeds being the base for delivery of the Government’s health mission. 

Further information 

• Main image: Adobe Stock
• For media enquiries, please contact Deb Newman in the University of Leeds press office via d.newman@leeds.ac.uk, and copy in pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk and Jessica Hardman at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust via jessica.hardman3@nhs.net.
• For more information about the facilities, please email sustain@leeds.ac.uk.