Monitoring and Mitigating Air Pollution in Healthcare: Characterising PM2.5 and NO2 Variability to Inform Sustainability Actions at Two UK Hospitals

Hospitals and public institutions often operate under significant financial constraints. When resources are insufficient to meet core service demands, as has been the case for the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), investment in air quality monitoring becomes even more challenging. This is despite clear evidence that healthcare settings are not insulated from the impacts of air pollution. Low-cost air quality sensors, which cost far less than reference grade instruments, offer a practical opportunity to generate meaningful environmental data in these environments.At two major hospitals in Northeast England, the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) and Freeman Hospital (FH) of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the deployment of 36 passive diffusion tubes, 9 indoor PurpleAir particulate monitors, and 3 ambient multisensor devices has enabled continuous monitoring of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters