A care home owner faced with a 1,000 per cent rise in her gas bill this autumn says she is terrified and struggling to see how she can possibly pay it. Joyce Pinfield says that the responsibility of caring for her elderly residents weighs heavily, and she cannot bring herself to contemplate what it will mean if she has to close down the business. “I find it too horrific to think about,” she says.
Ms Pinfield, who runs Greenacres in Crowle, near Scunthorpe, said in a report filed by The Mirror, says she is desperately hoping Liz Truss will announce urgent help businesses such as hers will need to cope with the astronomical energy bills this winter. She says she is desperate for the new Prime Minister to act, having just received a quote for her new gas contract.
It has been estimated that her gas cost will rise from just over £9,000 to £105,263 on a two-year contract, a hike of 1,069 per cent. Her electricity contract, secured at the end of June, has additionally risen by 260%. She says she is "frightened" and unsure how she will be able to afford it.
The care home owner has run Greenacres, housing 39 residents in Crowle, near Scunthorpe, for 15 years, but is now concerned for its future. “I am accepting a lot of people out of hospital with high complex needs," she says. "There is no way we can cut electricity or heating; I even have the heating on now for a couple of hours in the morning and evening. I’m going to plead to the local authority to give us more funding.
“You just cannot cut anymore costs. I may have to go to the bank and say I can’t pay the mortgage, that might be the only answer. It’s a last resort. There would be nowhere else to go after that.”
Ms Pinfield — like three other independent care home owners who also spoke to The Mirror, plus owners nationwide — are hoping help will be forthcoming from Ms Truss to save their businesses and the lives of many of those elderly who would be affected if the homes were forced to close.
Like pubs, cafes and restaurants already shutting down, and other companies across all sectors faced with the same horrific rises in the cost of energy, they need urgent help or face oblivion. Care homes are already beleaguered by underfunding in the social care sector, a staff recruitment crisis, and pay increases.
While across the country people are trying to figure out how to save on their energy bills, for those who look after the frail, ill and elderly, heating is non-negotiable. For these businesses, there is little left to cut — except, in a worst case scenario, beds themselves.
Many in the independent care home sector say closing, or turning away residents — potentially those who are funded by a local authority rather than by private means, plus those with high-cost complex needs taking up beds in hospital — may be their only recourse without aid.
The Independent Care Group says 81 per cent of its members across North Yorkshire fear they may be unable to meet rising costs. In the South East, the South East Social Care Alliance say 45 per cent of its members have considering quitting the market. Care England is calling for a per-bed energy price cap and the extension of the £400 energy rebate to those living in homes as well as "at home", plus the removal of VAT and the Green Levy on energy bills.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK says her organisation is “extremely worried”. She said: “If the worst happens and a home has to close, residents have to be moved somewhere else – which is incredibly disruptive, confusing and distressing, particularly for those who are extremely frail or living with dementia. If we were to see a wave of care home closures we would also worry that there would simply not be enough other settings able to take residents in.
“The Government cannot possibly allow a situation to develop this winter in which many care homes can no longer afford to operate, because of eye-watering energy bills. We haven’t got enough care home beds as it is and to lose substantially more would be catastrophic for our older population, and their families.”
A government spokesperson highlighted the £1 billion made available specifically for adult social care this year via the Local Government Finance Settlement. They said: “No national government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy, but we will continue to support businesses, including care homes, in navigating the months ahead.”
They pointed to a package of measures including doubling support for high energy usage businesses, reducing employer national insurance, slashing fuel duty, introducing a 50% business rates relief and freezing the business rates multiplier.
However, Care England said care homes do not fall under the definition of high energy businesses, do not pay business rates, and were little affected by fuel duty.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said Ms Truss had mentioned in her first speech that she would “take action this week to deal with energy bills and to secure our future energy supply.” They added: “We understand that people are struggling with rising prices, and while we can’t shield everyone from the global challenges, we will continue to support businesses, including care homes, in navigating the months ahead.
“We have made over £1 billion available specifically for adult social care this year via the Local Government Finance Settlement. Small businesses already benefit from a reduced rate of VAT for the energy they use.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
