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NHS Guidance document on making energy work in healthcare

NHS Guidance document on making energy work in healthcare

NHS guidance Document "Making energy work in healthcare"

Professor Alan Short (Department of Architecture) and Professor Peter Guthrie (Centre for Sustainable Development) have led the revision of the Health Technical Memorandum for the Department of Health.

The aim of this document is to ensure that everyone involved in managing, procuring, designing and using buildings and equipment thinks about the implications of energy use and carbon reduction whilst putting patients first; today and in the future. In short, it puts climate change mitigation and adaptation at the heart of the health service.

Dr Sebastian Macmillan (Department of Architecture) and Eleni Soulti (Centre for Sustainable Development) are co-authors of the document ‘Health Technical Memorandum 2015 – making energy work in healthcare’ which provides guidance on managing responsible energy use within the health sector.

This document is the primary guidance on energy efficiency in healthcare facilities in England. It has been produced as a guide to all issues relating to the procurement and management of energy in the NHS and energy efficiency in new build and existing buildings. 

The aim is to ensure that everyone involved in managing, procuring, designing and using buildings and equipment in the NHS, considers climate change adaptation and mitigation, whilst prioritising patients’ health and wellbeing. 

The new document reflects the latest carbon reduction targets set on a national and NHS level. It includes an update on the latest low and zero carbon technologies and lessons learnt from their use to date and incorporates the learning from projects implemented under the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF) which was undertaken during 2013/2014. It goes on to summarise observations, lessons learnt and examples of good practice following the role of the Centre for Sustainable Development and the Department of Architecture in monitoring the EEF. 

Information on policy regarding energy efficiency in the healthcare sector, as well as organisational carbon management, building energy management and behaviour change in healthcare environments are all explored as is energy efficiency in new build and the refurbishment of existing buildings, energy efficient building services and low and zero carbon technologies. Finally, this document highlights the significance of patients’ comfort in healthcare buildings, especially under adverse weather conditions affected by climate change.

Award winning film on the potential for adaptation across the NHS Estate 'Robust Hospitals in a Changing Climate'

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