New clean energy upgrades to help cut bills at Oxford University Hospitals

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will benefit from new funding to install clean energy upgrades, helping to reduce energy bills.

The government announced on Thursday 5 February that eighty-two NHS trusts, eight military sites and one prison will receive a share of £74 million to adopt clean energy technologies and improve their energy efficiency.

Oxford University Hospitals has been allocated £4,509,000 to install LED lighting in parts of the John Radcliffe, Churchill and Horton General hospitals and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, helping to bring down bills and create savings that can be reinvested into frontline services, as well as reducing maintenance costs.

The scope includes external lighting and will involve upgrading emergency lighting and introducing automation, which in turn will enable individual lights to be tested without disrupting clinical areas. The scheme will also ensure sufficient lighting levels across departments and wards, helping to improve the overall patient environment and providing financial and carbon savings.

The money will provide 45,000 fittings, providing a saving of about £2.1million a year on our energy bills and a saving of approximately 2,270 tonnes of CO2e, helping us towards our net zero targets.

Lisa Hofen, Chief Estates and Facilities Officer at Oxford University Hospitals, said: "This funding is a very welcome investment in improving our estate for the benefit of patients and staff. The improvements also have the benefit of saving the Trust money we can then invest in other services and also contribute to our sustainability aims of reaching Net Zero by 2040."

Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey said: "More money will go straight to frontline services as hospitals, prisons and military sites benefit from cheaper bills and cutting-edge green technology.

"This is our clean power mission in action – cutting bills, investing in public services and providing energy security for our country."

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "With lower bills for hospitals, better value for money, and a cleaner, more efficient NHS, everybody wins.

"Every penny of these savings will be redirected straight back into frontline care and delivering an NHS patients, staff and the whole country can be proud of again.

"This investment will help us build an NHS fit for the future."