Shropshire hospitals' nursing chief hails progress on trust's new water and heat pumps
Read the latest Shropshire Star column from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's nursing chief Paula Gardner.
The £16.2m decarbonisation project at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) is really taking shape with a crane lifting water and heat pumps into position on the roof of the Treatment Centre.
Rooftop solar panel works have also started with the framework now in place and the first delivery of panels due this week.
A water source heat pump and an air source heat pump were recently delivered to the hospital site and crane lifted into position. Drone footage of the delivery captured the delivery on video.
Our trust has partnered with Vital Energi to do the work, which will see the replacement of old steam boilers and associated gas-fired equipment with a 1.6MW air and water source heat pump system.
This will mean buildings across the site will receive low carbon heating, hot water and chilled water. It will mean the hospital estate will be fully de-steamed.
Other work includes the upgrade of roof and pipework insulation and the replacement of air handling unit fans units with low-energy fan systems.
Once work is complete, it means the hospital will be provided with low-carbon heating, hot water and cooling. This helps to provide a better environment for our patients, colleague and visitors.
It also means that the investment could save the trust an estimated £1 million a year in energy costs and will support the trust’s Estates Decarbonisation Strategies, Green Plan and national NHS ambitions of reaching net zero by 2040.
Another project which is improving safety for staff, reducing waste and saving money is a new dialysis delivery system at Hollinswood House in Telford.
The Community Diagnostic Centre at Hollinswood House opened in October 2023. It provides diagnostic tests for patients and also houses an outpatient unit for lower risk patients who need dialysis.
As part of the move into the building, David Roberts, senior specialist medical equipment technologist, and Jeremy Harris, senior assistant technical officer, coordinated the installation of a Central Delivery System for dialysis fluids.
The system pumps dialysate, the fluid used during dialysis, directly to the renal unit through a network of pipes, removing the need for staff to carry heavy containers to each dialysis station.
Since switching to the Central Delivery System, the trust is saving £30,000 per year. The change has also significantly reduced waste, with several hundred plastic containers no longer needing to be disposed of or recycled each week.
The Central Delivery System is now embedded into everyday practice at Hollinswood House, providing a more sustainable, efficient and safer way of delivering dialysis treatment for patients.
It has been a year since the RSH Park and Ride was introduced for patients and visitors. Since then, the service has averaged 600 journeys a week.
Thank you to everyone for all your positive feedback and for getting 'on board' with the service which runs from Oxon Park & Ride to the Treatment Centre entrance every 15-20 mins, from 6.20am-9.25pm
You can find more information and the full timetable on our website. https://ow.ly/yAb950Y3LoZ
