CHP hosted a mobile, accessible, outreach programme at 10 of our sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, with experts offering impartial energy advice and guidance to educate and support the public to make their homes more energy efficient. Our Operations and Relationship Managers (ORMs) worked with the team from Residential Energy Services and Socially Grown to enable their outreach van to visit our health centres.
Marketing experts Socially Grown (based at Keele University), in consortium with Residential Energy Services (RES), received £373,329 funding towards a mobile energy advice service for hard-to-reach households, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and supported by the Midlands Net Zero Hub.
The team of experts from Socially Grown and RES are advising people who:
• Are struggling to pay their fuel bills
• Want to improve the energy efficiency of their home
• Want to explore which energy saving measures are suitable for their home
The 10 CHP healthcare buildings involved are:
- Cobridge Community Health Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
- Biddulph Primary Care Centre, Staffordshire
- Audley Health Centre, Staffordshire
- Middleport Medical Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
- Packmoor Primary Care Centre Stoke-on-Trent
- Meir Primary Care Centre Stoke-on-Trent
- Shelton Primary Care Centre, Hanley, Staffordshire
- Milehouse Primary Care Centre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Fenton Health Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
- Alton Health Centre, Staffordshire
The team from RES visited CHP sites during October and November 2023.
The visit to Biddulph Primary Care Centre was so successful, the team want to visit again. Our local CHP team hope to host more visits from the ‘save energy van’ in 2024.
CHP ORMs Kay Gaven and Robin Willis worked with Heather Peake, Customer Sucess Manager at REG to arrange suitable dates and times, promote the visit to tenants such as GP surgeries, pharmacies and other services based at CHP health centres. Their work was key to promoting the advice clinic to patients, visitors, and other building users.
About fuel poverty
According to End Fuel Poverty, 7.39 million households in England spent more than 10% of their income (after housing costs) on energy bills in 2022. Over half of low-income households are residing in inefficient homes, with campaigners warning the rate of progress is below that which is needed to meet UK net-zero targets.
The advice project is initially focusing on Staffordshire and Shropshire, visiting key locations such as health centres, community centres and rural shows. The initiative will run for two years and aims to educate 6000 householders per year on energy efficiency measures.
The REG/SG community outreach team are working with hard-to-reach householders and co-creating energy plans to help reduce fuel bills and improve housing stock for vulnerable homeowners and residents across the region. Topics include:
• Better understand how to save energy
• Understand what funding may be available for their homes
• How to apply for funding
Our primary care buildings play a vital role in the community, and it is essential to foster a sense of environmental stewardship among those who visit our buildings. This campaign not only raises awareness but also provides actionable steps towards warmer homes and a more sustainable lifestyle.
Community Health Partnerships supports cost of living crisis projects
Community Health Partnerships supports many energy efficiency initiatives, hosting warm spaces, providing support for food banks as well as working with local charities to support cost of living projects.
These activities are part of CHP’s Buildings at the Heart of the Community initiative. The Buildings at the Heart activities aim to encourage local community groups and charities to make the most of our buildings by enabling the use of space in our centres to host health and wellbeing related events.
Find out more about Buildings at the Heart of the Community
CHP’s Buildings at the Heart of the Community initiative aims to encourage local community groups and charities to make the most of our buildings by enabling the use of space in our centres to host health and wellbeing related events.
CHP Green Plan
In 2022, CHP published our ‘Green Plan: A Greener CHP a Greener NHS’. We are embedding our Green Plan into our business, committing resources, supporting staff taking action to ensure it is a success. In 2023/24 we continue to work on our Net Zero Delivery Plan.
Download: CHP Green Plan, a greener CHP, a greener NHS (PDF)
Sustainability at CHP
As part of the NHS family, CHP supports the NHS ambition to deliver the world’s first net zero health system. Sustainable Facilities are one of our five strategic aims and Sustainability is one of our four corporate social responsibility pillars. Aligning with the NHS target of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2040, the team at CHP are committed to achieve Net Zero Carbon for the LIFT estate by 2040 and 2030 for our corporate functions.
