Hospitals and community sites run by West London NHS Trust, which provide services to Ealing residents, have cut their direct carbon emissions by almost a fifth over the past four years, following a wide-ranging programme of environmental improvements.
The Trust says it has achieved an 18 per cent reduction in emissions since 2020 across services in the London Borough of Ealing and beyond, including St Bernard’s Hospital in Hanwell. The saving is equivalent to making around 8,500 return car journeys between London and Glasgow.
Measures include the introduction of LED lighting across buildings, the switch of a quarter of the Trust’s vehicle fleet to electric, improved management of clinical waste and the opening of the new Broadmoor Hospital, designed with energy efficiency in mind.
More than 70 staff members are now involved in a sustainability group, which has helped cut glove use by 15 per cent, reducing consumption by about 125,000 gloves, and supported community clean-up work along the Grand Union Canal in Ealing.
Further progress is planned under a new Green Plan, backed by a £4 million investment in solar panels and heat pumps at Broadmoor Hospital.
Tom Wright, director of sustainability, said: “Every step we take toward being more energy-efficient brings us closer to being able to reduce the health impacts of climate change. It also means that that we create opportunities to invest more in our services so that we can deliver better outcomes for our patients and communities.”
