New £6 million energy centre installed at South Tyneside District Hospital is sign for the future of services

Heath chiefs at the hospital in South Shields say the state-of-the-art energy centre which has been installed on site demonstrates their commitment to providing services for local residents.

The £6 million project, which is helping reduce carbon emissions and allowing more efficient use of energy, is said to be delivering major benefits to the area, both environmentally and economically.

The development, which got underway in 2018, involved the building of a new boiler house and the introduction of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit to replace the old boiler system, much of which was almost 40 years old.

The CHP unit offers the capability to make more efficient and effective use of valuable energy resources, meet heat requirements that otherwise would require additional fuel to be burnt and help reduce carbon emissions.

CHP is a highly efficient process that makes use of the heat that is a by-product of the electricity generation process which would otherwise be wasted, thereby reducing energy consumption and costs and improving environmental performance.

The new energy centre is situated on the McAnany Avenue side of the hospital site.

The hospital has been at the centre of heated debate in recent years after an overhaul of how services were provided in the borough left campaigners fearing for the future of the hospital.

The Save South Tyneside Hospital group recently lost its lengthy legal battle over the changes to stroke, maternity and pediatric care in South Shields.

Now South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Ken Bremner said the investment shows the trust is committed to providing services at the hospital.

He commented: “This development represents significant investment in the infrastructure of the South Tyneside District Hospital site.

“It demonstrates not only our total commitment to continuing to provide local services for local people whilst improving the working environment for our staff, but also our determination to become more environmentally sustainable and improve economic efficiency.”