Baby boon from energy efficiency upgrades
Mums and their newborns will benefit from a massive energy efficiency upgrade at one of the UK’s largest hospitals.
A short, one-minute video we’ve produced provides a snapshot into the impact of an ambitious decarbonisation programme for patients at the Birmingham Women’s Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
To support its net zero 2040 target, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust is reglazing and recladding its ageing women’s hospital in Edgbaston to stop heat wastage.
The trust describes the current 1960s block as “terrible” because of its thin walls and single pane windows.
The building is so energy inefficient it can become cold in the winter months and affect the patient experience, especially for mums and their newborn babies.
In our video, Dan Saxton, the trust’s head of sustainability tells us: “It's a great decarbonisation story but it's also a great story for our patients because once the building is reinsulated and reglazed it will be a much nicer place.”
It's a great decarbonisation story but it's also a great story for our patients because once the building is reinsulated and reglazed it will be a much nicer place.
To support the works, the trust has secured a total of £63 million for four separate projects through Phase 3a and Phase 3b of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. We administer funding for this scheme on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
As well as improvements to the fabric of the building, the trust is removing its gas-powered heating systems in the women’s hospital and on its separate children’s site.
They are being replaced with ground source heat pumps, which capture natural heat from deep underground and transfer this to buildings for heating and hot water.
The trust estimates the upgrades will save around 8,000 tonnes of carbon each year as well as dramatically improving the patient experience.
Dan added: “The start of our decarbonisation programme has been accelerated hugely because of the funds we’ve received from the Salix-administered schemes.
“We’re changing the way that we operate, changing the staff and patient experience and reducing enough carbon to make a difference to the planet in future.”
We’re changing the way that we operate, changing the staff and patient experience and reducing enough carbon to make a difference to the planet in future.
At Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the UK’s leading specialist paediatric centre caring for sick children and young people up to the age of 16, hoardings were constructed around the work site with colourful and engaging graphics to explain what’s happening.
The trust has been keen to share its experience with other hospitals and has encouraged colleagues from across the NHS and public sector to come and visit.
Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust was one of nine organisations interviewed in a 36-minute documentary celebrating progress toward net zero in the public sector in England.
You can watch the full documentary on our YouTube channel or below.
