Mullingar hospital is national winner in ‘The BIG Switch Off' competition

Six Hospitals nationwide took part in the competition during which they saved enough electricity to make around 1.4 million cups of tea or run 90 standard Irish homes for a month Six Hospitals nationwide took part in the competition during which they saved enough electricity to make around 1.4 million cups of tea or run 90 standard Irish homes for a month 

The Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar, part of the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG), was crowned the nationwide winner of ‘The BIG Switch Off’ at an awards ceremony in Dublin yesterday.

The hospital improved its energy consumption by 15% during the course of competition – run by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in collaboration with the HSE’s National Health Sustainability Office (NHSO). 

Mullingar hospital was named the national winner and energy saving champion of six hospitals from Counties Sligo, Louth, Westmeath, Cavan, Offaly and Waterford which competed with focused energy efficiency campaigns over the August and October bank holiday weekends. 

The campaigns aimed to engage and empower hospital staff to focus on the energy consumed in their workplaces and on conserving energy. 

Staff made an extra effort to undertake a series of structured actions in advance of the bank holiday weekends, which, alongside technical infrastructure upgrade works, resulted in impressive energy efficiencies and savings at hospital.

Sligo University Hospital was runner-up in The Big Switch Off, and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda was third overall. 

Points were awarded to each hospital based on the percentage of energy saved, as well as for the levels of overall staff engagement and participation in the campaign. 

Combined, the hospitals saved enough electricity to power an average operating theatre for 162 days based on working 12 hours a day.

The BIG Switch Off is active in 14 hospitals across Ireland and nearly 300 other public buildings. 

Paul Tighe, senior engineer at The Office of Public Works, said: “Climate Change is a serious issue which we need to address with renewed determination as a country. 

“We are delighted with the success of ‘The BIG Switch Off’ and the level of engagement by staff. 

“I want to thank HSE’s National Health Sustainability Office and all of the six hospitals for taking part.” 

William Harding, Facilities and Safety manager for the hospital, said: “We’re delighted to be named the national winners of ‘The BIG Switch Off’ competition.

“The success of the energy saving campaign at this hospital is down to the support of staff who engaged locally within their departments, and we were able to identify where we can make energy savings, not just for the August and October bank holiday weekends 2018 but for all weekends. 

“We also acknowledge the support of our HSE Estates partners who played a significant role in identifying energy saving projects enabling continuous improvements in energy and sustainability at Regional Hospital Mullingar.”

For its win, Regional Hospital Mullingar were presented with a handmade trophy which reflected the main goals of the campaign; team work, diversity, and the summation of small energy saving efforts to making a significant difference in energy conservation. 

Jim Murphy from the HSE’s National Health Sustainability Office said: “We are delighted with the energy savings made by the hospitals participating in The BIG Switch Off competition. We believe initiatives like The BIG Switch Off are key in reaching our 2020 energy saving target.”

For further information on the Optimising Power @ Work campaign visit http://www.opw-energy.ie/