Hospital Trust gets greener with multi-million pound investment
Over £17 million of funding has been secured for various green projects at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
The funding will benefit patients by improving the air quality, reducing the environmental impact and promoting healthier and more sustainable care practices – which will ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.
The Trust, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Princess Royal Hospital (PRH), Telford, will save on running costs and provide more sustainable health services that will improve the experience for both patients and staff.
Work has started on a new Energy Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with the current ageing heating system being replaced and upgraded with modern and more sustainable energy sources.
Grants from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, National Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF) and Great British Energy Local Power Plan will also fund energy conservation measures such as solar panels, upgrades of roof and pipework insulation, and low-energy fan systems.
Inese Robotham, Assistant Chief Executive and Chair of the Trust’s Climate Change Group, said: “This major investment in renewable energy generation creates fantastic opportunities for our Trust.
“The funding will deliver significant reductions in our energy costs, and savings can then be redirected into frontline care.
“When the work is complete, the investment could save an estimated £1m a year in energy costs and will reduce emissions by over 3,000 tonnes of carbon each year.
“This investment supports our Green Plan and national NHS ambitions of reaching net zero by 2040.”
Other cost and energy saving measures at the Trust include LED lighting, increasing the number of electric vehicle points, working with partners on greener travel options, and recycling.
Both hospitals now have cardboard balers which have saved 4.6 tonnes CO2/e - the equivalent of driving 20,460 miles in a car - and generated an income for the Trust as the cardboard is sold to recyclers.
Seventeen tonnes of cardboard have been produced and recycled in just eight weeks as a result of using the balers.
The Trust has also submitted a funding bid to install solar panels and LED lighting at Princess Royal Hospital (PRH).
