NHS staff are being urged to switch off unnecessary electrical appliances to help make savings of £100,000 a year. Staff at NHS Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust are doing their bit as part of Switch It Off Week, which starts today.

The aim is to show how energy and money can be saved when we turn off unused lights and electrical appliances, including those left on standby.

The Carbon Trust estimates more than 10 per cent of energy savings can be made if equipment and lights are turned off. This equates to nearly £100,000 across the two trusts each year.

Dr Frances Howie, assistant director of public health for NHS Worcestershire, said: “Climate change is the biggest challenge facing public health in the 21st century. There are all sorts of things that people can do at work to help save energy.

“These include switching off the computer monitor when you’re away from your desk, switching off lights when they are not needed, and only boiling the water that is needed when making a cup of tea.

“As the largest public sector contributor to carbon emissions it is important everyone in the NHS plays their part in reducing carbon and saving energy.”

To help remind staff about saving energy, campaign packs will be sent to the larger sites across the trusts, encouraging staff to switch off unused electrical appliances during and after the week. The week will also provide an opportunity for staff to sign up as Green Champions to take forward the energy and cost-saving campaign messages.

Both trusts will be monitoring how much energy they save during the week by taking meter readings before and afterwards.

The two trusts hope to build on the success of last year’s campaign which saw a total of 16,970 KWh saved. This is equal to a £1,558 saving and prevented a massive 6.7 tons of carbon from being emitted to the atmosphere. This represents the same amount of carbon produced for one person to fly to New York and back four times.

worcesternews.co.uk