Veolia signs sustainable hard FM deal with Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Resource management provider, Veolia, has extended its services within UK healthcare by signing a new multi-million pound sustainable FM contract with Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

With a focus on optimisation and carbon reduction, the wide ranging agreement will implement hard FM services across the Trust’s estate covering 144,300 m2 of patient care facilities, and managing around 20,000 assets. The decarbonisation programme is set to save £1 million per year and reduce carbon emissions by 850 tonnes.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is the main provider of acute medical, surgical and outpatient services to around half a million people in west Berkshire, and manages over 130,000 A&E attendances, 60,000 non-elective admissions, 5,400 elective admissions, and over 40,000-day cases each year.

Key to supporting the healthcare buildings will be the 32-strong site-based Veolia FM team, supported by mobile and specialist teams. This will provide 24 hour cover for a range of FM, utility, mechanical and electrical services including heating, ventilation and cooling, emergency generation, lighting, medical furniture, compressed air and medical gas supplies. They will also deliver optimisation and control of all utilities that include gas, electricity, and hot and cold water supplies, and will liaise with the Environmental Agency, on behalf of the hospital, for environmental matters such as gas use, noise, and site impact.

Effective control of energy is handled by the team by using building energy management systems, with Hubgrade monitoring and targeting software providing additional analysis to further carbon reductions. This builds on the success of energy projects over the last 15 years that provided the design, build, operation and maintenance of an energy scheme that achieved a 25 per cent carbon footprint reduction by 2015, and delivered energy savings of £920,000 per year. More recently Veolia helped the Royal Berkshire Hospital move a step nearer a zero-carbon future by installing hydrogen-ready boilers, believed to be the first use of this technology in the NHS. By installing more efficient boilers, reducing distribution heat losses, and improving control of the heating and hot water systems the hospital saves around 3.8GWh of gas and a further 850 tonnes of carbon per year.

Commenting on this latest contract John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer – Veolia  UK & Ireland –  Industrial, Water & Energy said: “Through our experience of delivering successful FM and utility contracts in other hospitals, we understand how critical service delivery relies on a partnership approach to deliver services safely, efficiently and without disruption to patient care. Our Greenpath Zero carbon offer enables the NHS to become more sustainable, and focus budgets on patient care, we can help enhance the estate and move a step nearer the net zero carbon target. We look forward to continuing our support to the Trust, and advancing the programmes that can redirect cost savings to healthcare.”