The Sustainability and Simulation Theatre For Academia and Industry
funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in alignment with the Design for Life Roadmap
A Sustainable Heritage: SUSTAIN will be based in the site of the first operating theatre at Leeds (dating back to 1869). SUSTAIN will support ‘Building the Leeds Way’, reduce the carbon footprint and generate high-impact case-studies to spur adoption across the NHS.
Our Ambition: SUSTAIN is a real-life simulated surgical operating-suite environment, with integrated sensor and monitoring systems, that offers companies and care providers the opportunity of develop, test and implement physical and digital solutions into real-life settings.
A Testbed: SUSTAIN will capture and accurately assess both the environmental and human-factors impact of the pathway or innovation being tested. Supporting effective, relevant care innovations get to market in a standardised way which meets the needs of both the end-users and the requirements of clinicians and hospitals.
Core Themes
Theme 1: Surgical tray and equipment rationalisationThe Problem: Equipment and consumables use in surgical procedures is inefficient, wasteful and uneconomic
The Result: Unused tools are resterilised at significant carbon and economic cost. Single-use items create a significant waste stream.
The Potential: We have pioneered ‘tray rationalisation’ methods. This theme investigates automating systematic tray optimisation.
The Problem: Equipment loss in surgery causes significant financial, environmental and reputational impact.
The Result: There is a correlation between resource availability and patient outcomes. Regulators require effective asset management.
The Potential: Technological solutions enable asset tracking throughout the hospital and wider working environment.
The Problem: there is a lack of support for early-stage innovators in evaluating new technologies for the NHS
The Result: Barriers limit the development and scale-up of early-stage innovations which could benefit NHS Net Zero
The Potential: SUSTAIN is aligned with the Design for Life Roadmap, robust sustainability evidence,
The Problem: all technologies and interventions have behavioural implications within the surgical environment.
The Result: The psychological mechanisms underpinning surgical Carbon Reducing Behaviour (CRBs) remain unclear, limiting opportunities for widespread implementation of technologies and practices aimed at increasing surgical sustainability
The Potential: SUSTAIN will use novel behavioural science methods such as eye tracking and video analysis. Helping understand dynamics and mechanisms of CRBs.
SUSTAIN is currently under development with a launch due in June 2026.