North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has been granted more than £13 m via Salix – which administers funds on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – to make a wide range of improvements to the University Hospital of Hartlepool.
The Trust says the works, to improve the site’s heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and lighting, will help it achieve its goal of achieving Net Zero for carbon emissions by 2040. To be led by NTH Solutions, a subsidiary of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, over a two-year period, the works will include upgrading the hospital’s air-handling unit, LED lighting, and solar panels. Other improvements include installation of a site-wide low temperature hot water heating ring main, upgrades to plant rooms, chilled water upgrades, and additional metering. The hospital will also install a heat pump, which will draw energy from groundwater stored in an aquifer – necessitating drilling six boreholes to a depth of around 150 metres.
Steve Taylor, assistant director of Estates and Capital at NTH Solutions, said: “This work is a fantastic opportunity to achieve significant annual energy and carbon savings at the Hartlepool site. It will be a cost-efficient, sustainable way to help deliver on one of the organisation’s key priorities to be Net Zero by 2040. We are investing in the latest state-of-the-art ways to reduce our carbon emissions, and allow staff to deliver the very best care to patients.”
Neil Atkinson, the Trust’s MD, added: “This work will mean our Hartlepool site remains at the forefront of healthcare for many years to come. It is fantastic news for staff and patients, and indeed to our whole community, as we continue to strive to provide the very best care to all. Healthcare continues to evolve at a rapid rate, and it’s vital we make these improvements so that we continue to lead the way. It is also important as a key community partner, and one of the region’s largest employers, to play our part in helping reduce our carbon emissions and the effects of climate change on the environment.”
