Increased pressure on services, extra reliance on IT and air conditioning, along with ageing buildings and a substantial maintenance backlog, are just some of the reasons why trusts say they are finding it difficult to reduce energy use. However, energy performance is improving in those trusts where hospital estates have been modernised.

Contracts for nearly all gas and electricity used by NHS trusts are managed by Welsh Health Supplies. Trusts have experienced mixed fortunes in the prices paid for their energy supplies in recent years and Welsh Health Supplies has now changed its approach to try to ensure value for money over the longer term. However, it is too early to judge the success of these arrangements.

The report highlights some positive steps already taken by trusts to reduce consumption and improve efficiency. For example, all of the major hospital sites in Wales are now purchasing renewable ‘green’ electricity, while some trusts have gone to significant lengths to raise awareness of energy efficiency among staff. But it found that commitment to energy management varied across Wales and, despite clear evidence of opportunities for savings, short-term financial pressures mean most trusts have made relatively little investment in energy saving measures in recent years.

Unlike the rest of the UK, the Welsh Assembly Government has not developed a specific funding programme for energy saving projects across the Welsh public sector. However, the Health and Social Care Department has now set aside specific funding as part of its Capital Investment Programme to promote investment in energy saving measures.

The report makes 11 recommendations for improvement, including calls for:

further improvements in the monitoring and targeting of energy consumption;

• trusts to review measures, including financial incentives, to encourage staff to use energy efficiently;
• trusts to review their commitment to energy management and collaborate with other trusts;
• trusts to routinely involve their energy management lead in planning and designing new build or major refurbishment projects; and
• the Welsh Assembly Government to review energy related targets for the NHS.

Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:

“With rising energy prices, trusts need to sharpen up on energy management. They should increase their efforts to encourage staff to use energy more efficiently, revisit energy-saving schemes and collaborate with other trusts. The Welsh Assembly Government also needs to modernise its energy-related targets.”  

Notes to Editors:

• This report considers whether NHS trusts in Wales have been successful in controlling their energy costs over recent years and the prospects for the future, in particular whether trusts have secured a good deal in their procurement of electricity and gas and have made good progress in reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency.
• The 15 NHS Trusts in Wales consumed more than 2.8 million Gigajoules of energy in 2004-05, equivalent to the annual consumption of around 32,000 households, at a cost of almost £20 million.
• Powys Local Health Board is included in this report and is referred to as a trust as it provides secondary care services.
• The Wales Audit Office (WAO) is independent of government and is responsible for the annual audit of some £19 billion of annual public expenditure.
• The WAO was created in April 2005 through the Public Audit (Wales) Act, 2004, which expanded the functions of the Auditor General for Wales and enabled the transfer of staffs from the Audit Commission in Wales and National Audit Office in Wales to his employment.