Figures show west London has the least environmentally friendly hospital in England

Carbon emissions from west London hospitals are among the highest in the country after NHS Trusts aim to make massive reductions

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Claire Miller

Goolistan Cooper

11:20, 9 FEB 2017
Updated11:22, 9 FEB 2017

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, in Fulham Road (Image: Getty Images/AFP)

A hospital in Chelsea has been revealed as the most environmentally unfriendly in England.

Chelsea and Westminster produced 15,510 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2015/16 at a rate of 140.4kg per square metre of occupied floor space, placing it at the top of the list for the country, according to figures from NHS Digital.

The hospital produces 278% more carbon than the second worst offender in the region, Northwick Park and St Mark's Hospital.

The carbon footprint towers over other west London hospitals , such as Mount Vernon in Northwood , which produced 24.8kg of carbon emissions per square metre of occupied floor space, and Hammersmith Hospital , which churned out 29.9kg.

The Hospital trust said it was striving to reduce its carbon footprint

The findings also show that overall the NHS is on target to make massive reductions ahead by the middle of this century.

Hospital	Trust	Carbon Emissions	Carbon Emissions per occupied floor area (kg/m2)
St Mary's	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	3,596.89	41.8
Hammersmith	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	2,231.4	29.9
Charing Cross	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	5,080.82	43.79
Chelsea and Westminster	Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust	15,510.48	140.41
West Middlesex	Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust	2,065.2	43.83
Ealing	London North West Healthcare NHS Trust	2,024.45	43.5
Central Middlesex	London North West Healthcare NHS Trust	1,501.45	33.19
Northwick Park and St Mark's Hospital	London North West Healthcare NHS Trust	5,572.1	50.68
Royal Marsden	The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust	1,742.79	47.97
Harefield Hospital	Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust	1,606.38	51.74
Royal Brompton	Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust	2,465.45	51.15
Mount Vernon	The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	978.59	24.78
Hillingdon	The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	1,662.04	33.84

Following the Climate Change Act, NHS Trusts are among the government bodies that have targets to reduce their 1990 levels of carbon emissions by 26% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

The NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy 2009 identified a 10% reduction between 2007 and 2015 as being crucial to be on the right trajectory for the 2050 target.

The NHS has achieved an 11% reduction over this period.

A spokesman for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said it was striving to reduce its carbon footprint.

She said: “We currently produce our own power and a significant part of our heating which contributes to our carbon footprint.

Mount Vernon Hospital was among the least polluting hospitals in west London

“In the last 12 months we have replaced several plants and equipment and carried out a lighting upgrade to reduce our power consumption which we believe will have a significant, positive impact in reducing our carbon footprint.

“The Trust will continue to invest in its capital programme to improve the hospital environment for patients and staff and any building work we will carry out take environmental factors into account.”