At the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham, the last of 12,000 new double-glazed windows has just been installed. This is only stage one of an energy efficiency project that aims to reduce running costs and get the hospital to net zero by 2040, but it’s already delivering benefits. “Previously the hospital was draughty and noisy as parts of the site back on to the busy A52,” says Mike Soroka, QMC’s head of estates. “These windows have made it warmer in winter and cooler in summer. And that will benefit our patients.”
Energy efficiency and good health have an interesting circularity. The air pollution that contributes to climate change has also been linked to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and the worsening of asthma. And while the NHS treats patients with those conditions, it’s also a high emitter of CO2 – in England it’s responsible for about 4% of the total carbon footprint. Ageing buildings and cost pressures have added to the challenge.
