Supporting King’s College Hospital’s ‘Gloves Off’ campaign

We’ve been supporting the 'Gloves Off' campaign which launched in October 2022. The campaign has been making significant strides in promoting sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH). By aiming to minimise the use of single-use disposable gloves, the campaign has not only resulted a number of benefits and cost savings but is one of the many ways the Trust is working to meet their sustainability and recycling waste targets.

The collaboration between KFM’s Supply Chain & Clinical Procurement teams, KCH’s Senior Nursing and Infection Prevention and Control teams has been instrumental in developing and implementing the 'Gloves Off' initiative. One of the key contributions from KFM has been assisting KCH in creating new guidelines for glove usage, identifying situations where gloves are necessary and when they can be avoided in various clinical and non-clinical settings.

The impact of excessive glove usage on the environment has been a primary concern across the NHS. In 2021/22 alone, KCH’s disposable gloves usage was the equivalent to 1,247 tonnes of carbon emissions. This prompted the Trust to take immediate action and launch the campaign with KFM’s support, to combat the environmental consequences of excessive glove usage.

Adam Broad, Director of Supply Chain & Clinical Procurement at KFM, said: "We supported the senior nursing and Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) teams within the Trust, to help them develop the programme for the 'Gloves Off' initiative. This included providing comprehensive data and insights on glove usage as well as supporting the Trust in communicating and implementing the campaign. In the first three months of the campaign, compared to the same period in the previous year, we reduced our glove usage by 482,000, which equates to a 5% reduction in consumption and £11,500 cost saving. This campaign will not only achieve ongoing cost reductions for the Trust, but more importantly will reduce the environmental impact of unnecessary usage, without impacting on IPC.”

Alongside colleagues across KCH, we are committed to supporting the NHS's aim to cut carbon emissions by 2040, and will continue to work with the Trust to raise awareness of the campaign, while prioritising sustainable practices in the services we deliver.