Resetting energy strategies in the healthcare sector

Imagine trying to deliver safe, efficient care in buildings that have seen generations pass through their doors. If you work in healthcare, you don’t need to imagine it. This is your everyday life. 

Ageing infrastructure creaks under the weight of modern demands, while budgets are stretched to breaking point. Every day, you’re juggling urgent repairs, compliance pressures, and the relentless drive to cut carbon, while figuring out how to pay for any of this. 

It’s a balancing act that can feel overwhelming. Fragmented governance slows decisions, skills shortages leave gaps, and vital data is often locked away in silos. The result? Operational strain, strategic tension, and a maintenance backlog that threatens both safety and sustainability. 

Key complexities in healthcare energy management 

Energy is the lifeblood of every hospital, clinic, and care facility. When managed well, it creates healthier environments for patients and staff alike. Building a strong energy strategy starts with a clear understanding of the complexities it must navigate: 

• Disruption aversion in clinical settings: Energy upgrades can be disruptive, and even minor interruptions can affect patient care. Projects must be carefully timed and coordinated.
• Competing priorities: It’s unsurprising that a hospital may delay heating and electrical upgrades, because funding is urgently needed for new diagnostic equipment.
• Fragmented decision making: Decision-making often spans multiple departments, boards, and Integrated Care Systems (ICS), which slows progress and dilutes accountability.
• Organisational complexity: Lack of real-time visibility Many healthcare sites lack accurate, real-time data. This makes it hard to identify inefficiencies or prove the impact of energy-saving initiatives.
• Expanding roles: Energy and sustainability roles within the healthcare sector are increasingly being merged, often without a corresponding increase in support or resources.
• Limited capacity for strategic planning: If you’re responsible for dozens of sites, each with its own infrastructure, priorities, and constraints, it’s very difficult to focus on long-term innovation.
• Organisational capacity: Fragmented and ageing estates From Victorian-era hospitals to modern clinics, there’s no easy way to implement a unified strategy across a patchwork estate, with a growing list of backlog maintenance.
• Limited capital and budget constraints: With tight budgets and scrutiny over every pound spent, investing in energy improvements can be difficult to justify, even when the long-term savings are clear.
• Regulatory demands and sustainability: The healthcare is under increasing pressure to comply with evolving regulations. Yet, the path to compliance isn’t always clear and support can be patchy. 

Resetting healthcare energy strategies: steps for improvement 

To overcome these complexities and deliver cost, carbon, and resilience improvements, healthcare organisations can take the following steps: 

1. Adopt prioritisation frameworks: Use data-driven tools to rank projects by risk, impact, and strategic alignment. This enables transparent decision-making and ensures resources are directed where they will have the greatest effect.
2. Integrate planning across functions: Align estates, sustainability, and clinical strategies to ensure infrastructure supports both service delivery and long-term goals. Integrated planning helps break down silos and fosters collaboration.
3. Embrace digital enablement: Invest in smart systems, asset management platforms, and energy dashboards to improve visibility and control. Digital tools can unlock efficiencies and support proactive management.
4. Develop the workforce: Create clear career pathways, invest in professional development, and explore shared roles across organisations to build capacity and expertise.
5. Build external partnerships: Leverage expertise from industry partners to deliver complex projects, transfer knowledge, and access innovative funding models. Collaboration can reduce the burden on internal teams and accelerate progress. 

By adopting strategic tools, building partnerships, and focusing on integrated planning, organisations can reset their energy strategies to deliver tangible improvements in cost, carbon, and resilience, ensuring healthcare environments are fit for the future.