DRIVERS are set to benefit from a variety of new charging points at hospitals and surgeries across Cornwall.

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has revealed that 30 electric vehicle (EV) chargers are set to be installed at its services across the county.

This week, the trust announced that it has received funding from the NHS Chargepoint Accelerator scheme to install 30 new electric vehicle chargepoints across the county.

The Department for Transport (DfT) recently announced a £63-million package for charging investment across the UK.

Within that package is the NHS Chargepoint Accelerator scheme. This will see £8-million invested from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) in DfT to deliver 1,226 chargepoint sockets across 224 NHS sites.

The funding will see the trust’s chargers greatly upgraded. The ogranisation currently has only nine old EV chargepoints across the entire county, all of which need replacing.

Thanks to the funding, a total of 30 chargepoints will be installed under the NHS Chargepoint Accelerator scheme.

The trust has confirmed that the new chargers are set to be installed at: Banham House; Bolitho Hospital; Kernow Building; Sowenna; Trevillis House; and Royal Cornwall Hospital.

The trust say that the new chargepoints will facilitate the transition to EV’s for the trust’s pool car and courier fleets.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “Around half of the 8-million or so of business miles travelled annually are undertaken in private (grey fleet) vehicles. The intention is where staff use their own EV's for ‘business use’ they can also use the EV chargers. It is hoped this will help to shift some of the grey fleet miles from petrol and diesel to EV's.”

The trust has also said that funding will support the rollout of electric vehicles across the NHS in England. It is expected to deliver savings of around £130-million to the NHS over the next 25 years. This will help organisations drive down their fuel and maintenance costs, whilst improving air quality and offering better value for the taxpayer.

Alan Bean is sustainability programme manager for the trust.

Touching on the investment in and upgrade to Cornwall’s chargers, he said: “For our Net Zero Carbon Footprint by 2030 target about 80 per cent of our emissions come from the business miles we undertake. So, we are delighted and very grateful we have been awarded this grant from the Department for Transport, which will enable us to upgrade and expand our network of EV chargers.

“The EV chargers will be used to help us transition from petrol and diesel vehicle use to EV's for some of the business miles we need to undertake. Using EV’s will reduce carbon emissions, costs, and air pollution.

“Alongside additional funding for bike shelters, green travel planning tools, LEDs, better energy controls, and new solar PV systems, we are making positive steps to achieve healthier outcomes for people, the planet and pounds, which is the vision for our Net Zero programme.”