Now care homes may shut in face of soaring bills for gas
CARE homes may be forced to close amid spiralling gas bills as they battle to keep residents warm this winter, it was claimed yesterday.
The energy crisis could be the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ for a sector already grappling with a staffing crisis, one care boss said.
It came as an energy broker warned homes that hadn’t secured fixed-rate deals would likely see ‘100 per cent plus increases’.
Many care homes have the heating on all year round to keep frail residents warm. But unlike domestic consumers, they are not covered by the price cap that limits the rates suppliers can charge.
Steve Silverwood, of ECA Business Energy, which negotiates for firms including care operators, said: ‘Sites that have supply contracts coming up for renewal in the next three to six months will see a significant increase in energy costs.
‘At the current market levels business consumers could be seeing increases of over 100 per cent dependent on when they purchased their existing contract.’
‘We’ve already got recruitment crisis’
Darrell Byrom, who owns and manages a care home of 35 residents in Gayton, Northamptonshire, said: ‘Many care homes may not survive this latest setback.
‘We are already dealing with a recruitment crisis – unemployment is low and other sectors such as logistics are paying more for roles with less responsibility than care workers.’
The Government requires care home staff to be double vaccinated by November 11. Those who refuse the jab will no longer be allowed to work in the sector after that.
Mr Byrom said the looming deadline ‘adds to the pressures’ faced by care homes, although in his case only one member of staff falls into that category.
The Government estimates that about 7 per cent of the 570,000 people employed in English care homes will refuse the vaccine.
Another care home owner said the issue was a bigger concern than rising gas prices.
Bala Balendra, who operates two homes in Northamptonshire, said: ‘I’m really struggling to recruit replacements – even the agencies are struggling to find staff.’
He added he was ‘very lucky’ to be insulated from the energy crisis after signing both of his care homes up for a three-year fixed deal earlier this year.
He spends roughly £1,000 a month on heating and lighting at each of his homes, which have 26 residents each. Around 60 per cent of that cost is spent on gas.
But Mr Balendra said that ‘while utility bills are not the pressing concern for me, I fear others may have to look at cutting back on entertainment, day trips or maintenance’ to meet spiralling costs.
Gas prices in the UK have more than quadrupled over the past year to highs of 180p per therm, from around 40p last September. In the past month alone, prices have climbed by 70 per cent.
Melanie Weatherby, of the Care Association Alliance, said many smaller operators, eager to find the best deal, signed up to energy firms that have already collapsed.
‘It will be hard for them to find anyone else at a reasonable price and it might be they can’t find anyone at all,’ she told The Guardian.
‘This is something the Government needs to take into account in their negotiations with energy companies because you can bet they are doing that with hospitals.’