HOSPITAL bosses in York are starting a multi-million-pound project to cut energy costs so the money saved can be spent on healthcare.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is aiming to reduce carbon emissions from its power use by a quarter, through a string of measures which will include new heating and lighting systems.

It has started laying the ground for the work by submitting a planning application to City of York Council for alterations to be made to the Wigginton Road site’s boiler house, which will house most of the equipment needed for the combined heat and power system.

Planning documents sent to the authority by the trust’s agents, Vital Energi Utilities Ltd, said the work would allow the “redirection of funds from operational expenditure into care for patients”.

Brian Golding, the trust’s energy manager, said: “The application relates to a multi-million-pound scheme to improve our energy conservation, working with the Carbon and Energy Fund a £300 million-plus fund which supports NHS projects designed to cut carbon.

“The trust is about to embark on a major project to install a combined heat and power system, which means we will be generating a good portion of the electricity we consume on the hospital site. The waste heat from the electricity-generating process will also be used efficiently to heat a large portion of the hospital.”

Mr Golding said the trust would also improve its electrical and heating control systems, including a “wide-scale lighting upgrade”. He said: “Modern lighting provides a high-quality light with much-reduced electrical consumption.

“The trust is committed to energy conservation and reducing its carbon emissions, and the scheme will reduce energy-related emissions by about 25 per cent.”

The planning application said the scheme would cut the amount the hospital trust has to pay through the Climate Change Levy and also showcase its “green credentials”.