Two estates projects carried out at the Royal United Hospital in Bath during 2014 have been highly commended at a national awards ceremony.
The Building Better Healthcare (BBH) Awards celebrate innovation, architecture, people, products and services that help to transform patient care in the UK. The RUH has been highly commended in two categories.
An ambitious Trust-wide lighting project carried out in partnership with lighting specialist Philips, was one of the projects to be recognised at the awards.
The project was nominated in the Improving Sustainability and/or Reducing Energy category – radically transforming the aesthetics of the hospital’s interior and dramatically reducing carbon emissions.
The project got the go-ahead after the hospital successfully bid for £1.6m from the Department of Health’s Energy Efficient Capital Funding initiative and is expected to lead to annual savings of up to £400,000 in running costs.
The lighting project has also been shortlisted for a Lux award from the Lighting Industry Association’s eponymous magazine.
Also highly commended was the RUH’s innovative work with local engineering firm BuroHappold.
The project, on the intelligent use of space using an evidence-based approach, was nominated in the Financial Efficiencies category.
The project involved a detailed analysis of the use of the hospital’s outpatient department space and will help to ensure that the hospital uses the existing accommodation to its fullest potential.
Howard Jones, Director of Estates and Facilities said: “We are lucky to work with some excellent partners who help us to deliver positive changes to the RUH estate.
“There were hundreds of entries at the BBH awards, so we did rather well to be highly-commended in both categories for which we were entered.
“Both projects were pioneering in different ways and required great team work across the hospital – I would like to say a big thank to you to all staff who supported either of these projects.”
