Improve the environmental sustainability of the transport of samples

Category: Diagnostic/Clinical Labs

Level: Gold

Author: Coakley-Burns, A.

The Impact: <p>Improve the environmental sustainability of the transport of samples</p>

Details

Labs may not have direct control over courier services, so may need to work with procurement teams to achieve this action. The NHS in England has a Net Zero Travel and Transport Strategy which has set a target for the full fleet to be decarbonised by 2040. This includes all owned, leased and commissioned vehicles. This transition will also benefit local air quality. Some labs have contracted consultants to assist with reviews of, and improvement in, courier collection times and routes

References

• Improving the efficiency of patient diagnostic specimen collection with the aid of a multi-modal routing algorithm ,
• Benefits of Shared-Fleet Horizontal Logistics Collaborations: A Case Study of Patient Service Vehicles Collecting Pathology Samples in a Public Sector Healthcare Setting ,
• Net Zero travel and transport strategy

Resources

• Zooming into a greener future: The case for a zero-emissions courier services ,
• Gateshead NHS goes green with new electric transport ,
• Pathology Sample Transport