ESTATE DEVELOPMENT


and sustainably sourced, reducing the environmental impact of the project. Additional sustainability features will include LED lighting, recycling stations, and water refill points, all designed to promote eco-friendly behaviours among staff, patients, and visitors. These sustainable design elements are not only environmentally responsible, but also educational. By incorporating sustainability features into the design, we hope to inspire future generations to think about their own impact on the planet. The sustainability trail will help children understand these concepts in an engaging way, fostering a sense of environmental responsibility from a young age. The new entrance is set to open


by spring 2026, and will be a symbol of our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community. It will not only improve the experience for patients and families, but also provide a space where connections can be made, celebrations can be shared, and knowledge can be gained. This project is about more than just bricks and mortar; it’s about creating an environment that supports healing, learning, and hope for everyone who walks through our doors.


n Transforming our hospitals through decarbonisation


Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals is taking bold steps to significantly reduce its carbon footprint through a series of energy-saving measures. These include installing ground source heat pumps, replacing old single- glazed windows, and re-rendering and insulating exterior walls.


Anyone who has been to either of our hospitals


will have experienced the extreme temperatures – a consequence of the poor insulation and extreme temperature fluctuations at our 60-year-old Women’s Hospital, and the Grade II-listed Children’s Hospital, with its 125-year-old single-glazed windows, which are unable to provide adequate ventilation or suitable insulation. This project will enable us to make much-needed improvements, not only for our women, children, young people, and families, but also for the environment we all depend on.


Deep holes dug at both sites To install the ground source heat pumps, six deep holes need to be drilled at both sites, reaching about 200 metres into the ground, and tapping into an underground aquifer. The temperature in the UK rises by about 3 °C for every 100 metres in depth due to the geothermal gradient. By using this natural heat source, the pumps will extract groundwater, which is then passed through a heat pump system. The difference in temperature, combined with refrigerant gas and a compressor, generates the heat needed to keep patients, visitors, and staff warm. After use, the water is returned to the aquifer, ensuring that the process remains sustainable. Once the project is completed, the hospitals will have reduced their total carbon emissions by approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO2


Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals are responsible for 73,480 tonnes of CO2


equivalent annually. Currently, emissions each


year – the equivalent of heating 27,348 homes for a year.


While the Trust has already made significant progress in reducing its emissions – by 11% (around 2,800 tonnes annually), this project will accelerate its efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Currently, day-to-day activities within the hospitals account for about 24% of their carbon emissions. This includes the fossil fuels used to heat buildings, the electricity to power and cool facilities, and refrigerant gases in chillers and air-conditioning units. Both hospitals rely on combined heat and power (CHP) units, which burn gas to produce electricity and heat. These units will reach the end of their lifespan in three years, and without intervention, they will continue to contribute to climate change and air pollution. The transition to ground source heat pumps will reduce the hospitals’ reliance on fossil fuels, helping to mitigate their environmental impact


A change of façade at Birmingham Women’s Hospital Major improvement work has begun at our Women’s Hospital which will dramatically change the façade and improve the internal environment for patients, families, and staff. Enabling works are in progress which will see a completely new frontage to the building, with replacement of all windows to triple-glazed and new external cladding. This is set to reduce the energy costs by up to 80%, and make it much easier to manage the internal temperatures of the clinical facilities and offices, so that it is much more comfortable in very hot and cold weather. The new-look Women’s Hospital will be a modern, clinical facility which staff can be proud to work in, comparable to the neighbouring buildings. The decarbonisation project aligns with the West Midlands Combined Authority’s commitment to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2041. It also marks the first significant step towards the Trust’s Green Plan. The project is a critical step towards reducing the hospitals’ environmental impact by meeting NHS-mandated targets to cut carbon emissions. These targets aim to reduce Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 80% between 2028 and 2032, and achieve 100% carbon neutrality across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2045. To further support these sustainability goals, the hospitals are committed to educating young people about renewable energy and the importance of environmentally friendly solutions. A dedicated ground source heat pump educational video is available by scanning the QR code.


April 2025 Health Estate Journal 33


A ‘ground-breaking’ project currently underway at Birmingham Children’s Hospital is set to bring ‘cutting-edge’, charitably-funded, intraoperative MRI (iMRI) technology to the hospital for the first time.


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