An acute trust replacing end-of-life endpoints is not running an IT project so much as working around clinical activity. Machines sit on wards, in clinics and in offices that cannot be emptied to suit a collection date, and every one of them may hold patient data.

This trust was retiring around 600 devices across several hospital sites. Surplex UK Limited provides IT disposal for the NHS and healthcare providers, and the work was phased over several weeks rather than delivered as a single collection.

The Challenge: Clinical Areas Do Not Empty on Request

The trust could not release whole areas at once, and its information governance team needed a record against each device rather than a summary. Some machines held patient data on drives the trust was unwilling to see leave the building at all.

The Surplex Solution: On-Site Destruction, Phased Around Clinical Activity

Drives that could not leave were shredded on site using the mobile unit, witnessed where the trust wanted it. The remainder travelled under GPS-tracked transport to the Gloucester processing centre. Collections were scheduled ward by ward and department by department as replacement equipment landed, over several weeks.

  • 1. Recorded Before Anything Moved

    Every device was recorded against its serial number at the point of collection. Collection and technical staff are screened to BS 7858, the British standard for vetting people who work in secure environments, which is what an NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit submission expects of a processor.

  • 2. Destroyed On Site Where Required

    Destruction was carried out to BS EN 15713:2023, the Destroy method defined by NIST 800-88. Where value was recovered from hardware, the data was erased with Certus certified software, the Purge method under the same standard.

  • 3. Phased to Fit the Wards

    Nothing was collected before its replacement was in place. Dates moved when clinical activity required it, which on a hospital site is most weeks.

  • Sector

    Healthcare and NHS

  • Scope

    Several hospital sites within one acute trust

  • Assets

    Around 600 devices

  • Key Win

    Drives destroyed on site where they could not leave the ward

"They worked around the wards rather than asking the wards to work around them. That’s rarer than it should be."

IT Asset Manager, NHS acute trust

The Results: A Record Against Every Device

The trust received documentation it could put into an information governance file rather than a summary of tonnage. Of the devices collected, the reporting separates those that held data from the monitors and peripherals that did not.

Metric
Outcome
  • Scale

    Around 600 devices across several hospital sites

  • Destruction Standard

    BS EN 15713:2023, the NIST 800-88 Destroy method

  • Vetting

    BS 7858 screened collection and technical staff

  • Cost

    Free. Recovered value covered the collection in full

Why NHS Trusts and Healthcare Providers Trust Surplex

Surplex UK Limited works with acute trusts, ICBs, private healthcare and life sciences organisations. There is no minimum quantity, so a single laptop is booked the same way as a full estate. Most customers find their collection is free, because the value recovered from redundant hardware is set against the cost of collection, destruction and recycling. Where it does not cover that cost, a small logistics and processing fee is payable, agreed upfront.

Team Meeting 1

Frequently asked questions

Yes. The mobile unit shreds drives on site so data never leaves the building, and it can be witnessed. Destruction is carried out to BS EN 15713:2023, the Destroy method defined by NIST 800-88, and a certificate is issued against each serial number before we leave.

A certificate of destruction naming every device serial number, an itemised asset report separating data-bearing devices from the rest, WEEE evidence notes for the recycled fraction, and confirmation of zero to landfill. It is written so a specific machine can be traced, which is what an audit actually asks.

Collection and technical staff are screened to BS 7858, the British standard for vetting people working in secure environments. Enhanced checks can be arranged where an account requires them.

No. There is no minimum quantity, and a single device is booked the same way as a full estate. Most customers find their collection is free, because the value recovered from redundant hardware is set against the cost of collection, destruction and recycling. Where it does not cover it, a small logistics and processing fee is payable, agreed upfront.

Capabilities Used in This Project

Get in Touch About Your IT Recycling Needs

We provide IT recycling services for organisations of all sizes across England, Wales and Scotland.

Whether you’re recycling a few old laptops, decommissioning a data centre, or need secure data destruction, our team will help you dispose of IT equipment compliantly and responsibly.

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Email: info@surplex.co.uk
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