Greener NHS - Case Studies

Royal Papworth Hospital: Alternatives to plastic

For some time the team at Papworth Hospital has been looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprint. One project is to use bin bags made from seaweed. Seaweed-based packaging has been shown as an eco-friendly replacement for plastic that can biodegrade in different environments. Other innitiatives being looked at by Papworth Hospital are solar panels, not using certain gasses that pollute the atmosphere and reducing single use plastics.

Cambridge Community Services: Sustainable power

As part of the Trust’s journey toward a lower carbon future the trust has installed both electric vehicle charging points, solar photovoltaic car park lighting and low-level footway lighting. 

The low level footway lighting uses a power saving function which dims the streetlights to 30% lighting output – reducing light pollution for neighbours and providing a “darker sky” for nocturnal biodiversity. An additional benefit of the power saving function is the proximity sensor which detects people movement, improving security for staff and service users at site.

Cambridge University Hospitals: Reducing consumption of chemical gasses

A team from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) is leading efforts to reduce the environmental impact of gases used to give pain relief and anaesthesia to hospital patients. One of those gases, Nitrous oxide, confers the largest carbon footprint of the anaesthetic gases within the acute sector, accounting for at least 80% of the total anaesthetic gas footprint in 2019/20.

CUH identified a core objective to permanently save more than 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide per annum from nitrous and losses and exhaust to atmosphere. By working withanaesthetists, midwives, paediatrics, maintenance, service providers, logistics and portering, the medical gases committee, the divisional forum and management, a full nitrous lifecycle on and off-site audit was completed. Now work us is being undertaken to detect leaks, resolve maintenance issues and use innovative collection and tracking technology. They are also working to shape changes to clinical practice and patient care.

North West Anglia Foundation Trust: ZED PODS On-site Keyworker accommodation 

Medical staff based at Hinchinbroke Hospital now have the option to stay in one of 10 state-of-the-art modular homes onsite at the hospital, reducing the need to travel across an area where affordable accommodation can be hard to secure.One of the top requirements was that the building had to have high energy efficiency. The building was completed in 2020 and named the ‘Captain Sir Tom Moore House’ by staff in honour of our local fundraiser, who raised over £40million for the NHS. The units are just a short walk from the main hospital building and will be a restful place for staff to unwind without the long commute home.

The ZED pods as they are know were built in collaboration with the Foundation Trust. They were deployed in 13 weeks to deliver a much needed self-contained homes for nurses at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. The SAP-A rated energy-efficient performance standards that the homes have exceeds the building regulations. It is a perfect example of a scalable, high-quality, zero-carbon, modular homes built inside a hospital site.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust: The Farm

Darwin Nurseries is a horticulture project and farm shop where adults with learning disabilities and mental health challenges gain the skills, independence and confidence to take an active role in the community. The site strives to follow the permaculture ethos. Permaculture is an intertwined holistic way of farming, it is the practice of working with, rather than against, nature through thoughtful observation.

By working with the Woodland Trust hundreds of tree have been planted with the aim to provide a shelter for the growing areas and increase the biodiversity. In total more than 1000 trees and shrubs have been planted in recent years. Animal waste and bedding is composted and any green waste is either fed to the animals or composted. 

Rainwater is harvested from the greenhouse roof, which we is then use to irrigating crops. This has led to a reduction in the amount of mains water that is used. Just one heavy rain shower can fill the water storage tank. All cardboard is flattened and used as part of our mulching regime and as a natural weed barrier in pathways and no chemicals are used on the fruits on the site.

You can read more about the farm on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust website.