NIHR Capital Research Infrastructure funding award

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been awarded £1.5 million in NIHR Capital Research Infrastructure funding, and we're proud that SUSTAIN features directly in what this investment will deliver.

Part of the funding will provide critical infrastructure for our new simulated surgical operating suite at Leeds General Infirmary, equipping the facility with additional state-of-the-art equipment to accelerate the development, evaluation, and deployment of greener surgery technologies across the NHS. The suite is designed to assess the environmental impact of surgical innovations, strengthen connectivity between clinical, academic, and industry partners, and enable joint research across the NHS and academia.

Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and led by the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care, SUSTAIN (Sustainability and Simulation Theatre for Academia and Industry) offers a real-world environment in which to test, evaluate, and implement sustainable surgical technologies. This is exactly the kind of NHS-academia partnership investment that turns innovative ideas into real-world impact.

Congratulations to the whole team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Leeds, and our partners across the Accelerated Surgical Care HealthTech Research Centre. New equipment and infrastructure is expected to be in place from Summer 2026.

Watch this space!

The full press release can be found here