Interest-free capital for energy efficiency

Hannah Taylor, programme manager for the NHS Team at Salix Finance, which provides interest-free Government funding to public sector organisations to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and lower energy bills, explains how the independent, publicly-funded company is working with NHS Trusts around the UK to make NHS estates more energy-efficient. 

Following the Lord Carter of Coles’ report, Operational productivity and performance in English, NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations, produced for the Department of Health, and published in February 2016, all NHS Trusts should now have a plan outlining how they will contribute to the increased efficiency of both clinical and non-clinical costs. Recommendation six within Lord Carter’s report looked at estates and facilities management, identifying the potential to save £1 billion per year if all Trusts achieved the median level of performance in this key area. Of this, it was suggested that over £36 million could be saved by installing more efficient lighting and heating systems, which would simultaneously have positive impacts on patient and staff working environments, while reducing carbon emissions and impact on climate change.

As the NHS looks to make continuous savings across its estate, finding the capital to implement ‘invest-to-save’ projects has been a significant barrier. Since 2007, however, Salix Finance has been working within the NHS across England to help remove this barrier by providing capital in the form of interestfree government finance. Salix Finance is a not-for-profit, independent company funded by multiple government departments including the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Salix provides support across the public sector, and within the healthcare sector can help NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts access interest-free finance to enable them to install updated, more efficient technologies across their estates and reduce their energy and maintenance costs.