CARBON AND EMISSION REDUCTION
normalises, and aggregates data sets. The platform effectively made the data flow bi-directional with the existing BMS, with wireless data coming from the new sensors, energy consumption data from metering, and BMS data from the HVAC. Now monitoring around 1,500 data points across the hospital, we needed a way of visualising this information, so we built a platform that would offer different user personas for the various stakeholders. This meant, for instance, that Sustainability managers would have one view of the data, and ESG managers another. Meanwhile, the Estates team would have multiple views, since the department may be interested in a range of parameters. To further improve visibility, automated links were also added, meaning that when a fault appears on the system, it will auto-generate, and appear on stakeholders’ computer-aided facility management (CAFM) system.
Energy and asset optimisation With the new system now in place across the 31 operating theatres, the hospital is already seeing the benefits of having the wireless sensors and a more sophisticated process for data aggregation. The cumulative project value for us was circa £150,000 and, in total, it had a value of around £850,000 for the Trust. Based on spend, an ROI is expected in less than two years – and
that’s just for the project’s first phase works that have been completed so far. It is also estimated that, in year one, the project will save the hospital over £350,000 in energy savings alone — a significant benefit for an NHS hospital under pressure to improve efficiency and cut costs. As well as lowering costs, optimisation has had a positive effect on
asset health. The motors, drives, inverters, and control equipment in the BMS are now under far less stress, because we’re pushing setback modes into the theatres. Based on our sensors’ understanding of occupancy, and what they
classify as occupational time, we’re changing the mode for the systems that supply the theatres with air, heating, and cooling. Over time, this will help extend the asset lifecycles, as they’re being used less frequently, and only when needed.
The next phase The team at St George’s recently secured additional funding from the New Hospital Programme (NHP) for Phase Two works. These will involve expanding the network of sensors into the feeder rooms for the main operating theatre, primarily anaesthesia. As part of this process, we are investigating nitrous oxide monitoring in these rooms, along with the function of the AGSSs. Scavenger gas systems can be inefficient, and will sometimes be running 24/7 if staff forget to switch them off. These machines are big energy consumers, because they constantly run pumps, compressors, and motors, meaning that a system optimisation process could deliver significant benefits. Meanwhile, the hospital is running some projects to help it understand
how it could use AI for things like predictive failure and optimisation. It is also identifying how it can overlay environmental and patient data for retrospective analysis. This means that if something were to go wrong, the hospital could track the patient’s journey before they entered the theatre. This goes back to them leaving the house, and includes the many stages before returning home. The NHP is very engaged in the project, and is using the information
from the optimisation to help shape the new hospital model. In theory, all the tools we’re retrofitting, and the connections we’re establishing, should be baked into the new hospital model – and this will help the NHS on its digitisation journey.
References 1 St George’s Hospital [Internet]. St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 2024.
https://tinyurl.com/bdfrfxh7
2 Theatre nursing and operating department practitioner jobs at St George’s [Internet] 2024. St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
https://tinyurl.com/3pfksn2s
3 UK Health Alliance on Climate Change. Sustainable healthcare: Green surgery – Reducing the environmental impact of surgical care. Report [Internet]. UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, 2024.
https://tinyurl.com/bdya87n4
May 2025 Health Estate Journal 75
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