ENERGY bills at Oxfordshire's largest hospitals have more than doubled in three years and managers are considering ways of generating electricity including solar and wind power.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which oversees the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, and The Horton, Banbury, uses the equivalent electricity every year to 8,600 homes. It also uses the same amount of gas and oil as about 9,700 homes.

Although its consumption has not increased in recent years, its fuel bill has risen by 136 per cent, from £3.6m in 2003-4 to an estimated £8.5m for this financial year.

Unlike residential customers, who are charged five per cent tax on their fuel bills, the ORH is charged 17.5 per cent, because it is classed as a commercial business.

Now senior directors are reviewing the way they use energy.

Facilities and estates director Ian Humphries said: "We need to buy energy efficiently, use it efficiently while maintaining the right environment for our patients and staff, and be environmentally friendly.

"To try to fit those things together doesn't always work, but our current focus, with ever-spiralling price increases, is to manage our use of energy in the best way."

Mr Humphries, pictured, and ORH energy manager Mike Frankum believe their best option would be to use combined heat and power units (CHP), which use gas to create in-house electricity. They have been operational at the Radcliffe Infirmary since 1993.

They are also considering solar power and wind turbines at the John Radcliffe site in Headington. Mr Humphries said: "At one stage CHP didn't look economically viable for our other sites, but now we're reassessing the equation, and CHP is an attractive proposal. We're also reviewing solar and wind turbine systems at the JR, where there are slightly better opportunities than the Churchill or the Horton. For solar power, for example, you need a huge building like the JR.

"At the moment though, these options are not making as much sense financially, but we have a little bit of work to do before we abandon that altogether. We're looking for energy solutions that are cost-effective and have no future financial implications for us." Mr Frankum, who has day-to-day responsibility for maintaining and overseeing energy use, said the ORH was already part of a consortium of 100 NHS trusts which bulk buys much of its energy in advance.

He added: "Site managers have energy targets, just like financial targets, and since April we've asked for a seven per cent reduction. This is difficult as we have more and more patients to care for and use hi-tech equipment, like scanners in radiology. Areas like operating theatres and laboratories also have to be carefully temperature controlled."

Environmental consultant Craig Simmons, a Green councillor on Oxford City Council, believes solar power could provide almost three-quarters of the hot water needed at the JR.

As co-author of a national report on energy use in the NHS, called Material Health, he believes most need only to make simple changes to become greener and more cost-effective.

He said: "There are lots of opportunities within hospitals to reduce energy consumption, loads of which were not considered when they were built and energy was cheap. The ORH's review is encouraging, but I think there's some basic things they need to do first. It would be far cheaper for them to save power in the first place."