Construction has begun on a £1.25m operating theatre training facility in Leeds that aims to drive advances in sustainable healthcare innovation and research.
The new SUSTAIN facility — Sustainability and Simulation Theatre for Academia and Industry, will provide a realistic simulated surgical environment focused on sustainability and the development of greener healthcare pathways. It is expected to be the only facility of its kind in the UK, bringing together academia, industry and healthcare professionals to explore how operating theatres and clinical settings can reduce waste, cut carbon emissions and improve efficiency.
The project aims to support progress towards a greener NHS while improving patient care and clinical decision-making. It could also help deliver significant cost and carbon savings, contributing to a more efficient, resilient and economical health service in line with the NHS 10-year plan.
Based at Leeds General Infirmary, the cutting-edge simulation and innovation space will focus on developing, testing and scaling sustainable healthcare solutions for use across the NHS. The facility will evaluate environmental impact alongside patient safety and clinical efficiency, helping to increase the adoption of future-proof practices nationally. It is designed to drive innovation in sustainable healthcare, support the NHS in meeting its net zero carbon targets, and contribute to the Government’s Greener NHS plan and Design for Life ambitions.
The space will also support the move towards more circular and reusable healthcare systems, reducing waste while improving resilience and efficiency across clinical services.
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.”
SUSTAIN is being delivered as a collaborative project led by the sustainability team and Surgical Care Observatory at the National Institute for Health and Care Research HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care. The project is being developed in close partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, the University of Leeds and the Department of Health and Social Care.
It forms part of the Government’s Design for Life programme, which focuses on creating healthcare systems that are more efficient, resilient and less wasteful.
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 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.”
Located on the site of the original operating theatre above Leeds General Infirmary’s Great George Street entrance, the facility will provide a next-generation training space for clinicians, researchers and organisations working in sustainable surgery. The space will support the development of behaviour change interventions and new resource-efficient clinical practices, helping to accelerate their adoption 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.”
The ‘living lab’ will give clinicians, researchers and industry partners a unique opportunity to trial new innovations, procedures, behaviours and workflows in a realistic NHS environment. The facility will generate valuable data and bring experts together with national policymakers to help accelerate the adoption of new ideas and support joint research. It also aims to strengthen collaboration with industry and support economic growth by reducing barriers for companies and early-stage innovators developing solutions for a modern NHS.
At present, up to around 80% of healthcare technology projects fail to achieve successful adoption, scale or sustainability. The SUSTAIN facility will allow developers to work closely with NHS partners to test technologies in an ‘offline’ environment before they are introduced into live surgical settings. This will help innovators better understand how their technologies could be integrated into operating theatres, while identifying and addressing potential barriers before procurement and wider adoption.
Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and NIHR Capital Investment, the facility will provide enhanced training in a realistic clinical setting. It will allow users to focus on human factors and behavioural change, while supporting clinicians to develop, test and refine new sustainable practices before they are adopted more widely.
The partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care is also expected to support the rapid implementation and scaling of proven innovations. Successful ideas and approaches can be shared directly with the national Design for Life team, NHS England, NHS Supply Chain and other key partners, helping to turn research and innovation into policy more quickly.
The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with partners across Leeds on a range of programmes and innovations through the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub. Leeds is also serving as a key base for delivering the Government’s health mission, strengthening the city’s role as a centre for healthcare innovation and reform.
