Construction is now underway on a £1.25 million operating theatre simulation facility in Leeds, designed to accelerate the NHS’s journey towards net zero while strengthening patient care and clinical innovation.
The Sustainability and Simulation Theatre for Academia and Industry (SUSTAIN), based at Leeds General Infirmary, will be the only facility of its kind in the UK. Designed as a fully immersive, “as real” surgical environment, the lab will focus on embedding sustainability into clinical decision-making and operational practice.
Set within the historic site of the original operating theatre above LGI’s Great George Street entrance, the 113-square-metre facility will act as a “living lab” where clinicians, researchers, and industry can collaborate to trial new approaches in a realistic NHS setting.
SUSTAIN has been created to tackle one of the NHS’s most pressing challenges: how to reduce environmental impact without compromising care quality. The facility will provide a platform to develop and test sustainable healthcare solutions, with a strong focus on measuring environmental outcomes alongside safety and efficiency.
Key aims include:
- Accelerating innovation in sustainable healthcare delivery
- Supporting NHS net zero carbon targets
- Enabling circular and reusable healthcare systems
- Improving clinical decision-making and reducing costs
The initiative aligns closely with the Government’s Greener NHS agenda and the Design for Life programme, which seeks to build more efficient and resilient health systems.
The project is led by the sustainability team and surgical care observatory at the National Institute for Health and Care Research HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care. It brings together Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the University of Leeds and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Through this partnership, innovations developed within the lab can be rapidly shared with national bodies including NHS England, NHS Supply Chain and the Design for Life team, helping to accelerate adoption at scale.
The facility also aims to reduce the high failure rate of healthcare innovations. Currently, up to 80% of healthcare technology projects fail to achieve adoption or long-term sustainability. By providing an “offline” testing environment, SUSTAIN allows developers to identify and address barriers before technologies are introduced into live surgical settings.
Beyond technology, the simulation space will place a strong emphasis on human factors, behaviour change and workflow redesign, areas widely recognised as crucial to achieving lasting sustainability gains in healthcare.
Despite strong support for NHS net zero ambitions – around 87% of staff are in favour – significant challenges remain. Around 21% of NHS trusts do not yet measure their carbon footprint or have a clear net zero roadmap. SUSTAIN aims to address these gaps by providing real-world insight into how sustainable practices can be implemented across busy clinical environments.
The development is expected to strengthen collaboration between academia, industry and the NHS, while boosting economic growth by lowering barriers for early-stage innovators. It will also support Leeds’ position as a hub for health innovation, with the city hosting multiple programmes through the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub.
Modern digital technologies and advanced infrastructure within the facility will enable data analysis, research, and connectivity between partners, helping translate ideas into scalable, system-wide change.
Funded by DHSC and NIHR Capital Investment, the laboratory will provide advanced simulation-based training for clinical teams, equipping them to adopt sustainable practices more quickly and effectively.
Craige Richardson, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Estates and Facilities at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“We are one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, a centre for excellence for research and innovation, delivering specialised care across the region which makes our hospital the ideal home for this next-generation simulated, surgical operating suite. As a Trust, we’re already committed to embedding sustainability into everyday clinical, operational and strategic decision-making and the development of this lab, together with our partners, takes that a step further. SUSTAIN has been designed to provide advanced, simulation-based education for theatre teams which will benefit our patients as well as accelerate surgical technologies right across the NHS.”
Construction is expected to complete in summer 2026, with the SUSTAIN facility set to open officially in September 2026.
Image credit: iStock
