News

University Hospitals of North Midlands supports local people living in fuel poverty while reducing its carbon footprint

The University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) is predicted to save 850 tonnes of carbon dioxide through the installation of over 1,000 solar panels. The money saved on energy bills is helping to support hundreds of local patients who are living in fuel poverty.

Innovation is at the core of the 20-year scheme, with over £335,000 raised through ethical public investors. The funds enabled the installation of 1089 solar panels on the roofs of Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital, saving emissions equivalent to the electricity use of 165 homes for one year, over the life of the scheme.

The project is a partnership between UHNM, Staffordshire-based charity Beat the Cold, Southern Staffordshire Community Energy Limited (SSCE) and community stakeholders. It helps to prevent vulnerable patients living in cold, damp houses or fuel poverty.

SSCE receive income from Feed-in-Tariffs and from UHNM for the purchase of the all of the electricity generated by the panels. This creates a return for the investors and a surplus which accumulates into a ‘community fund’.

Buying the electricity generated by the panels, reduces demand on the grid and gives UHNM cheaper, more resilient supply.

The community fund is utilised in order to run an intervention for vulnerable patients that reside in Staffordshire. Patients are assessed by a member of the UHNM treatment team to understand if their condition is exacerbated by living in a cold home. For instance, if they are presenting with frailty, respiratory conditions, or hypothermia, the patient may be referred with their consent to Beat the Cold.

The intervention includes an ‘affordable warmth’ service to patients in their homes. This is a review of the patient’s energy tariff and subsequent support to help them switch to a new provider if appropriate.

The service also signposts patients to other related services and helps to provide advocacy support for any relevant issues.

Due to its success, ‘Keep Warm, Keep Well’ was highly commended in the Towards Net Zero category at this year’s Health Service Journal Awards.

The current energy crisis means that living in a cold home increases patients’ risk of poorer health. When patients live in poor quality or inadequately heated homes, it also increases the risk of hospital readmissions.

Charles from Tamworth has multiple health conditions, including a chronic lung condition and cardiovascular disease, both of which could be affected by living in a cold home.

Charles has benefited from the scheme as Beat the Cold gave him advice on energy usage in the home and he was also guided on relevant benefits and discounts.

Charles said: “What they have told me and what we have done on their advice has worked out really well.

“We only keep one room really warm for us and the dogs, and the other rooms are a little bit cooler.

“You can’t improve on their expertise. They know what they are talking about”.

Abigail from Stoke-on-Trent has mobility issues and struggles when bathing. Thanks to Beat the Cold, Abigail now has a smart boiler which helps to control the temperature of her home.

Abigail said: “It is a marvellous boiler. It’ll come on early in the morning and then it goes off. I don’t have to touch it. It is really good”.

Louise Stockdale, Head of Transformation and Sustainability at UHNM, said: “The ‘Keep Warm, Keep Well’ project is a huge benefit for the community which surrounds the Royal Stoke and County Hospitals.

“The scheme not only supports those most vulnerable with the cost of living crisis by improving the energy efficiency of their homes, but it also helps to massively reduce carbon emissions through the use of the on-site solar energy panels.

“The project contributes to improvements in patients’ physical and mental wellbeing, as well as improving patient flow and wait times in our hospitals as patients can be discharged quicker”.

Climate change poses a major threat to people’s health and the planet. Discover how the NHS is becoming greener and find out how to take action and the help the NHS to become the world’s first health service to reach carbon net zero.

Ends

Background:

The community which surrounds UHNM has higher than average levels of fuel poverty, as well as other indicators of deprivation.

With the increase to the energy price cap in April 2022, the National Energy Action (NEA)  charity has estimated that the number of households in fuel poverty has risen from 4.5 million households in 2021 to 6.5 million in 2022.