CARBON AND ENERGY SAVING
Energy-saving steps aim to cut emissions by 80 per cent
A major project to decarbonise North Tyneside General Hospital is well under way, with the aim of reducing its emissions by 80 per cent in the years to come. The ‘up-to-£22 m scheme,’ which will see the hospital’s steam system replaced, and a raft of other energy-saving improvements, is all part of what Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust dubs ‘a commitment to taking concrete, meaningful action’ to reduce its environmental impact. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, talked to Project director at Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management, Owen Cusack, and his colleague, Energy and Sustainability officer, Michael Blades.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides health and care services to over 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside. It delivers healthcare from sites including the 265-bedded North Tyneside General Hospital in North Shields, the 375-bedded Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, the 254-bedded Wansbeck General Hospital, and Hexham General Hospital, plus community hospitals in Alnwick, Berwick, Blyth, and Rothbury, an outpatient and diagnostic centre in Morpeth, an elderly care unit, and an integrated health and social care facility. One of two wholly-owned subsidiaries
that enables it to offer expertise outside the main organisation is Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management. It provides specialist project management services for capital developments, estates maintenance, and a full range of facilities services.
A range of sustainability initiatives Since its establishment a decade ago, Northumbria Healthcare FM has masterminded a wide range of sustainability activities to enhance and upgrade the Trust’s estate. Most recently – I discovered from Owen Cusack and Michael Blades – a team from the
company has masterminded a complex multi-million pound heat decarbonisation scheme ongoing at the North Tyneside Hospital since April 2021, and scheduled for completion in late 2022. The central element is to ‘de-steam’ the site. Phased to minimise disruption on a very busy ‘live’ hospital site, the project will see three ageing boilers in the hospital’s Energy Centre, and its steam distribution system, replaced by a network of low-temperature hot water pipes – with heating and hot water provided by new air-source and water-source heat pumps. As a contingency, three new low-temperature hot water boilers will be installed. Other recent carbon and energy-saving
measures being, or already implemented, at North Tyneside General, include the installation of some 1 MW of solar photovoltaic panels on the hospital roof, a phased replacement of all single-glazed windows with new, more energy-efficient double-glazing, and site-wide cavity wall insulation to reduce heat loss and provide a more comfortable internal environment. Mike Blades said: “The heat decarbonisation project is much-needed, and will significantly reduce our carbon emissions, which should drop by 80% over a 15-year period, with the largest fall in the first two years. We have already
spent around £3 m on ‘easy wins’, such as modernising all the lighting at a number of our hospitals. To make further inroads, however, and in line with our latest Green Plan, we need to make significant investments, such as the one at North Tyneside.”
Public sector funding The heat decarbonisation project, being funded via Salix through a £19.5 m grant from Phase One of the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, will see around 65 ventilation unit fans, and thousands of metres of hot water piping, replaced, the hospital’s existing high- voltage sub-station removed, and a new one installed, and upgrades to the power system via a large number of replacement switchboards incorporating a HV ring, and cables to improve resilience. Owen Cusack said: “The current heating and hot water system is past its design life, and starting to cost significant amounts to maintain, and the new set-up will be vastly more efficient. “This is a major project, with significant
work to do, although much of it will be behind the scenes, and not obvious to staff, patients, and visitors.” Owen Cusack went on to explain that the recently-opened Northumbria Sterile
Wansbeck General Hospital (pictured left) and Hexham General Hospital (right) are part of the estate portfolio of a Trust which provides health and care services to over 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside.
June 2022 Health Estate Journal 51
Courtesy of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
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