PPF76 Small change, big charge: reducing battery waste in palliative syringe drivers

<h3>Background</h3> The World Health Organization has declared that ‘climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century’.¹ Health systems, including palliative and hospice care, have a responsibility to mitigate their environmental footprint. Truly holistic care should encompass physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and sustainable dimensions of wellbeing—the latter increasingly recognised as a core element of healthcare quality.² A potential overlooked source of waste in palliative settings is the frequent replacement of 9V alkaline batteries used in syringe drivers. The production of these batteries is resource- and energy-intensive, involving the extraction of zinc, manganese, and steel, while disposal or recycling carries notable environmental burdens.³ An audit of current practice in our hospice identified an average battery replacement threshold of 40% remaining charge (range 18–50%), with no formal policy to guide replacement threshold. <h3>Aim</h3> To reduce environmental impact and waste from syringe driver use by lowering the battery replacement threshold from 40% to 15%, thereby decreasing annual battery consumption. <h3>Methods</h3> Syringe driver charts were audited to assess replacement levels and battery drainage rates. Extrapolating the data allowed for estimation of battery usage and lifespan (approximately 20% drainage per 24 hours). <h3>Results</h3> Modelling predicts each syringe driver would use approximately 37 fewer batteries per year under a 15% threshold compared with 40%. For a fleet of 20 devices, this represents 740 fewer batteries annually: reducing cost, landfill waste, potential heavy metal pollution, and carbon emissions from manufacture and transport. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Lowering the battery replacement threshold for syringe drivers is a low-cost, low-risk intervention with measurable environmental benefits. Its adoption within hospice care demonstrates how sustainable practice can be embedded into clinical operations, supporting healthcare’s duty to reduce its environmental footprint. <h3>References</h3> World Health Organization (2023). Climate Change. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health. MacNeill AJ, McGain F, Sherman JD. Planetary health care: a framework for sustainable health systems. <i>The Lancet Planetary Health</i> [online] 2021;<b>5</b>(2):e66–e68. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00005-x . Olivetti EA, Ceder G, Gaustad GG, Fu X. Lithium-ion battery supply chain considerations: analysis of potential bottlenecks in critical metals. <i>Joule</i> [online] 2017;<b>1</b>(2):229–243. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2017.08.019 .