Case Study

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

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A Total Waste Solution to a Series of Healthcare Challenges

“Working with Sharpsmart has made a huge difference to how we manage waste across the Trust. They’ve taken the stress out of what can be a really complex area—everything from clinical waste to general waste is handled quickly, safely, and in line with all the right regulations.

The team is easy to work with, always on time, and really responsive whenever we need support or have questions. They’ve helped us reach our 20-20-60 target as per HTM 07-01 and made the whole process far more efficient.

It’s clear they understand the pressures of working in a busy NHS environment, and they’ve adapted their service to fit around our needs. We’re really pleased with the results and would happily recommend them to other Trusts.”

Megan Bradford and Monique Bradford – Facilities Management, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

The Challenge

As the foremost among five independent specialist orthopaedic hospitals nationwide, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) NHS Trust conducts a significant volume of intricate tertiary procedures, including acute spinal injuries, bone tumours, complex joint reconstruction, orthopaedic medicine, and specialised rehabilitation for individuals experiencing chronic back pain.

The biggest challenge faced by RNOH was a lack of cohesion across its vast range of waste streams. They faced issues with compliant waste segregation, uncertainty around recyclable items, and challenges with waste collections.

The Trust wasn’t feeling supported to overcome the obstacles they kept coming up against, so they reached out to the Sharpsmart team for some waste management guidance – we were already providing the Trust with our fully managed sharps waste service.

Our Approach

STEP 1

As the Sharpsmart team were already working within the four walls of RNOH with our reusable sharps service, we were on hand to provide guidance and consultancy as soon as the Trust raised concerns about its waste management processes.

STEP 2

We conducted intensive waste audits and organised training and education for clinical staff. We also built and maintained relationships with staff and the Trust’s Facilities Management provider, helping to improve waste practices across the Trust. Our goal was to help the Trust find a solution for every problem, no matter how small.

STEP 3

The previous steps helped position the Trust for greater success when, a little later, Sharpsmart was awarded the Total Waste Management contract.

The mobilisation was mostly straightforward, other than a slight delay in getting new waste compactors to the site, so we worked closely with the Trust’s previous service provider to avoid disruptions during the changeover.

The Solution

An in-depth offensive waste audit and waste trends audits were conducted across the Trust.
Staff training has been organised, and Waste Awareness Days have been scheduled for May 2025.
Educational materials and clear signage have been reviewed and are awaiting final approval before installation.
A revised transport plan has been created to reduce the number of vehicles on-site at any one time.
Over 120 large 770-ltr bins were delivered to the site for general and recycling waste.
An extra enclosed skip has been provided to aid recyclable metal segregation.
Implemented two new waste compactors with telematic systems to monitor waste fill levels and notify collectors.

The Outcome

As well as an overall improvement in waste awareness and management throughout the Trust and across all staff, RNOH has also seen results in:

Compliant waste segregation across all streams leading to reductions in costs and CO2e.
Waste metals are now being counted towards recycling rates rather than treated as bulky item waste.
Efficiencies from maximised compactor volumes, eliminating unnecessary collections and the associated road miles, carbon emissions and costs.

Within three months of introducing the new metal recycling waste skip and improving segregation, skip changes have been reduced by over 50% and the 50-100-mile round trip of previous suppliers has been cut to an 18-mile round trip.

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