The last stages of preparation see the hospital reveal sustainability plans, including a sustainable travel plan activated across the site. Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust says new orthopaedic facility is ‘the most environmentally friendly building yet’ to be built at Sulis Hospital. The Trust explained: “It aligns with a commitment to reducing environmental impact through energy efficiency and sustainable materials. For example, solar and ground source heat pumps have been installed, which significantly reduce energy consumption while lowering carbon emissions. The building also incorporates low embodied carbon materials, ensuring a sustainable approach from construction to operation.”
A new travel initiative, meanwhile, is designed to encourage ‘healthy and sustainable travel habits that benefit everyone, improving access, and supporting sustainable journeys to and from the hospital each year’. The initiative includes:
- Four eBikes available to all staff for long-term hire.
- Ten eBike charging points available at the hospital.
- Six charging stations for electric vehicles.
- A comprehensive overview of bus travel, including WESTLink bus routes.
- An extension of the Sulis Hospital car sharing scheme, organised through the central team at the hospital.
Lucy Travis, the senior Shared Travel Plan officer for B&NES Council, worked with the Royal United Hospital (RUH) and Sulis Hospital on sustainable travel initiatives, and introduced them to staff in a roadshow in November.
Sulis Hospital has been part of the RUH family since 2021, and helps to increase capacity while decreasing waiting lists. It is the UK’s first fully operational private hospital where 100% of the shares are owned by an NHS Trust.
The Sulis Elective Orthopaedic Centre will create the capacity for an extra 3,750 non-emergency orthopaedic NHS patients across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire, as well as the wider South West region, annually. The hospital does not have an emergency department, so elective surgery is ‘ringfenced’ and thus at lower risk of being cancelled because the hospital does not perform urgent, non-planned operations. Facilities at the Centre will include two new modular theatres, additional inpatient beds, and the conversion of two existing theatres to laminar flow theatres.
The elective care delivery model will benefit considerably from the Centre, ensuring local people get the care that they need as quickly as possible. The Trust says NHS patients will actively see these benefits, with a further reduction in wait times and waiting lists, and increased capacity to offset delays. The region will also benefit from the 100 jobs that Sulis Hospital is recruiting for to staff the Centre.
Most recently, Sulis Hospital earned the 2024 Architecture Today Award for Healthcare. Designed by Foster + Partners in collaboration with the founding doctors, the building is said to ‘merge cutting-edge healthcare functionality with a patient-centred biophilic design that enhances recovery and wellbeing’.
Hospital director, Simon Milner, said: “Projects like this are certainly a balancing act – we want to ensure that the facilities are top-notch, and that patient care is prioritised ,but then it’s also important to ensure that these new services are accessible, and that our approach to sustainability isn’t left by the wayside. I’m proud to say that with this Centre, I truly believe we’ve achieved this balance.”