Calls to remove barriers to sustainable HealthTech

At EBME Expo, sustainability and the HealthTech sector was high on the agenda. Simon Hall, an award winning sustainable medical devices pioneer and Founder of Airway Medical,¹ provided an overview of global sustainability goals and the Net Zero ambitions of the NHS in the UK. Previously a Service Engineer in UK hospitals, Simon has a background of 40 years of working within medical device companies. As an entrepreneur who is "passionate about Saving Lives Sustainably", Simon founded the company in June 2019 and has since overseen the development of sustainable life saving devices — such as CAMSUtm, an airway medical suction unit which is manufactured from a renewable, medical grade organic plastic, derived from castor bean oil. The device provides instantaneous vacuum to -60Kpa; the same as portable electric/battery devices, without requiring a reliable source of electricity.

However, the pathway for innovation in sustainable HealthTech is not without its hurdles, as Simon highlighted in his presentation. So, what can the NHS do to pave the way for increased investment in the development of innovative and sustainable medical devices in the future?

Simon explained that the UN recognised that there was a climate emergency, back in the 1980s, which led to the publication of the Brundtland report in 1987. This report encouraged governments to participate in discussions around greenhouse gases and climate change, and to invest in research. In 2015, the UN produced seventeen sustainability development goals. Then, in July 2022, the NHS became the first health system to embed Net Zero into legislation, through the Health and Care Act 2022.