Many healthcare buildings operate from ageing property stock where improving energy performance must be carefully balanced against operational demands and building limitations.

Murton & Co provides strategic retrofit and building performance consultancy for healthcare estates, helping clients identify realistic opportunities for improvement while understanding the risks associated with upgrading existing buildings. Our retrofit work sits within our wider specialist building performance and energy consultancy for healthcare estates.

Murton & Co supports healthcare retrofit projects where energy performance needs to be improved without compromising operational use, occupant comfort or long-term building health.

This may include retrofit planning for:

• GP surgeries and doctors’ surgeries
• Primary care centres and medical centres
• Care homes and assisted living environments
• Specialist clinics and outpatient facilities
• Pharmacies and chemists
• Cleanrooms and controlled healthcare environments
• NHS-linked and privately owned healthcare buildings
• Wider healthcare estate improvement programmes

Each project needs to be considered in the context of how the building is used, how it is ventilated, how occupants experience the space and how improvement works can be delivered safely and practically.

• Building performance reviews
• Retrofit planning and strategy
• EPC improvement planning
• Fabric performance assessments
• Lighting and services upgrade advice
• HVAC performance reviews
• Carbon reduction planning
• Energy efficiency improvement strategies

Where improvements are being driven by EPC or regulatory requirements, we can also advise on MEES compliance across healthcare estates.

Our consultancy approach is informed by the principles of PAS 2038, the framework for retrofitting commercial buildings. This is particularly important within healthcare environments, where retrofit decisions can directly affect:

• Indoor air quality
• Thermal comfort
• Ventilation performance
• Moisture movement
• Patient and staff wellbeing
• Operational resilience

We understand that effective retrofit is not simply about achieving a higher EPC rating. Successful building improvement requires a whole-building understanding of how construction, services and occupancy interact over time.

Before recommending improvement measures, we look at the building as a whole.

This may include:

• Existing EPC performance
• Building fabric condition
• Heating, cooling and ventilation systems
• HVAC performance
• Moisture and condensation risk
• Indoor air quality
• Occupancy patterns
• Operational constraints
• Planned future use
• Compliance obligations
• Cost, disruption and return on investment

This helps reduce the risk of isolated improvements creating unintended problems elsewhere in the building.

• Reduce operational energy consumption
• Improve estate resilience
• Support Net Zero objectives
• Avoid unintended retrofit risks
• Deliver sustainable long-term building performance

Our experience across commercial and operational property environments allows us to provide clear, evidence-based advice that supports informed decision-making throughout the retrofit process.

Talk to us about retrofit, building performance and a practical improvement plan that considers how the building is actually used.