Percentage of Healthcare System's Carbon Footprint Due to Desflurane and Plans to Reduce its Use

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1856 
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 21 APRIL 2023

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Leon Perera
MP for Aljunied GRC

Question No. 2900

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of our healthcare system’s carbon footprint is due to anaesthetics; (b) what proportion of our anaesthetics usage is accounted for by desflurane; and (c) whether there are plans to reduce, or even phase out desflurane use in medical contexts where it is substitutable by other types of anaesthetics, in view of its extremely high carbon footprint.

Answer

The Ministry of Health (MOH) measures the carbon footprint of public healthcare institutions (PHIs) through their direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases arising from fuel combustion and electricity consumption. However, MOH does not collect data on the impact of medical gas emissions on our carbon footprint. 

There have been ongoing efforts in recent years to minimise desflurane use where medically appropriate. In 2019, the proportion of desflurane use ranged from 28% to 68% across the different institutions. This has decreased to a range of 5% to 42% in 2022.