Overview
The South West London & St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust was formed in 1994 and has a long history of providing mental health services. The headquarters are at Springfield University Hospital in Tooting and the Trust operates from nearly 100 other locations, providing community and hospital psychiatric services to Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth. It also offers more specialist services to people throughout the United Kingdom.
The Problem
Patient care remains the Trust’s primary focus but it is also committed to improving sustainability within the organisation because of the longer term impact it has on the health and wellbeing of its servicer users, employees, visitors and the wider community.
In 2010 the Trust joined the 10:10 campaign to cut carbon emissions, pledging to cut its total emissions by at least 10% in one year.
Our Solution
Two voltage loggers were sent to Springfield Hospital for one week, which recorded the voltage levels in the buildings. It was found that the average voltage at the site was 244 volts for TX1 (14 volts higher than the nominal supply in the UK, and 245 volts for TX2 (15 volts higher than the nominal supply in the UK). After a survey of the site by a powerPerfector approved contractor, two powerPerfector units were installed at Springfield Hospital.
The Results
The Trust exceeded the 10% target, cutting its carbon emissions by 11%. The Trust’s Carbon Reduction Plan, developed with the Carbon Trust, has a carbon emissions reduction target of 25% by 2015 from the 2008 baseline. South West London & St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust is well on course to meet this target.