Earlier this week, the Department for Transport and the Department for Health and Social Care announced the NHS Chargepoint Accelerator scheme. The scheme is an investment of £8 million from Office for Zero Emission Vehicles for the installation of on-site electric vehicle chargepoints to support the electrification of the NHS fleet.
As part of this scheme, we received £298,000 to install new chargepoints at nine of our sites in the North West.
We already have around 170 individual chargepoints across all its sites, supporting more than 100 electric vehicles in its frontline and support fleet. These additions support extensive plans to grow this further. Indeed, one of these is a fast charger to be installed at the ambulance station in Fazakerley, ready for the trial of a fully electric ambulance in Liverpool.
NWAS Head of Fleet and Logistics, Jon Makin, says, “We are very thankful, as ever, to have received this grant as we continue to expand our green fleet of EVs and the charging network needed to support it.
“It’s often the requirements for the new EV fleet that triggers decarbonisation of our sites and buildings: as work behind the scenes to secure improve necessary power supplies for vehicles, means that further sustainability improvements can then be started within the estate.”
Investing in electrical chargepoints will deliver reductions in fuel and maintenance costs that can be redirected into front-line care. This investment will deliver savings of £130 million for the NHS over the next 25 years, with an estimated average return on investment in just four years. The wider social benefits from reduced emissions and improved air quality are valued at an additional £93 million.
NHS Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Gormley said: “The NHS has already implemented hundreds of projects that reduce emissions and drive significant cost savings, all while improving patient care. This new £8 million investment, across 62 NHS Trusts and around 224 sites, supports the renewed commitment in the government’s 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a more sustainable NHS while also helping hospitals save millions on fuel and maintenance costs and reduce air pollution. These savings can be reinvested directly into frontline care, ensuring the NHS continues to deliver for our patients and communities.”
The sites identified to be fitted with new chargepoints are as follows:
- Fazakerley station
- Altham station
- Fulwood (Transport Logistics)
- Salkeld Hall
- Broughton workshop
- Penrith station
- Preston Driving Training Centre
- Barrow station
- Kendal station