Children's hospice Ty Hafan is facing a £500,000 annual increase in its energy bills in a crisis described as "worse than the pandemic". The Vale of Glamorgan-based charity, which provides care to life-limited children, said the problem has come at a time when donations are 50% down due to the cost of living crisis.
It currently costs Ty Hafan £5.2m a year to provide its expert care and support – more than 80% of which is funded by public donations and less than 20% from statutory sources such as the Welsh Government, local authorities and health boards. The 23-year-old charity has been told that its energy bills could soar to £600,000 a year – up from around £100,000 which they are paying now. Ty Hafan chief executive Maria Timon Samra said she was having sleepless nights over the issue and is calling for more government help.
The hospice, based in Sully, provides support to 300 children with life-limiting conditions and their loved ones across west, mid and south Wales. But demand is increasing from families who are themselves under huge additional pressure from the record hike in energy bills.
Read more: Severely disabled three-year-old girl's family left with massive energy bill as prices skyrocket
Ms Samra said: "Huge rises in the cost of energy combined with a significant drop in income, plus increasing demand for our services from already under-pressure families is, in effect, a perfect storm and is proving to be hugely challenging for us.
"Now, more than ever, we need those organisations and individuals who are able to do so to support us wherever possible to enable us to carry on caring for some of the most vulnerable children in Wales and their families through very difficult times and beyond."
Ty Hafan said its annual energy bill for its 10-bed hospice and 19 charity shops around south, mid, and west Wales is currently £100,000 per annum. The contract ends in September.
The charity said it had been quoted a minimum of £460,000 per annum for a new three-year energy contract or £600,000 for a new one-year deal. Its care costs have also gone up from £4.8m a year to £5.3m, partly because of the increase in National Insurance contributions.
Ms Samra added: "The best quote we have had will see our annual energy bill alone more than quadrupling and, unlike many other businesses and organisations, we are not in a position to even consider passing on those additional costs to the families who use our services because all the care and support we provide is free of charge. Like every other business right now we are, of course, looking at a range of ways in which we may be able to mitigate against these rising fuel bills and we hope that government will ensure that charities such as ourselves will be included in any plans to support businesses.
"We have already installed solar panels on the roof of our hospice and these are currently showing a saving of 13% on hospice electricity costs. We are now looking to secure funding to be able to install solar panels on our head office too which potentially could see additional savings of around 25%."
But she stressed that Ty Hafan will not be cutting the services it provides because children with life-shortening conditions and their families "need us now more than ever". She added: "Compounding the rise in our energy costs and rising costs our income is dropping. The pandemic caused a drop in our annual income of around 25% and we were starting to see some recovery from that but the cost of living crisis is now making fundraising more challenging than ever.
"In the first four months of 2022 donations to Ty Hafan from individuals have dropped by almost half compared with the same period last year. This situation is very concerning because many people who have been loyal supporters for years are cancelling their direct debits.
"We know they don't want to do this, because they are telling us so, but they’re having to make this choice because they simply cannot afford to give to us right now because their own energy costs are so high, plus the rise in the cost of living generally. We understand that these are very challenging times for us all and especially so for the children and families for whom we are a lifeline.
"In fact I think that the challenges we are facing now are even greater than those posed by the coronavirus pandemic. All donations to help Ty Hafan children's hospice to get through these most challenging of times will make an immense difference."
The charity is calling on the Welsh Government, UK Government, and energy suppliers to provide immediate assistance to the families of children with life-shortening conditions who they support and who are also facing huge rises to their gas and electricity bills.
One of the children who benefits greatly from Ty Hafan is Savanah-Bleu O'Brien, from Capel Llanilltern, Cardiff, who has a progressive brain disorder called leukodystrophy which stops her from talking, walking, and eating properly. The three-year-old requires a special machine to feed her through her stomach and needs her home warm to prevent potentially fatal illnesses and infections.
Her mum Jayde Adams, 30, said her own energy bills could increase from around £100 to £170. "It's a constant worry every single day. My mind doesn't shut off from it," said Jayde. "I'm dreading how much our energy bills are going to increase in October." You can read more about their story here.
Talking about the help they receive from Ty Hafan Jayde added: "They take a bit of weight off my shoulders. You can visit any day of the week and they have a beautiful little park. When I'm there I feel like I'm home but with less stress and worry. They do loads of different activities and they include the siblings so much."
In January the Welsh Government announced that £888,000 of additional funding will go to Ty Hafan and another leading hospice, Ty Gobaith. A spokesman said: "Following our review of hospice funding we have committed an extra £2.2m a year funding for hospices in Wales. We are working with Ty Hafan and other hospices to help them deal with the cost of living crisis. But the UK Government needs to take action now to tackle energy costs ahead of this winter."
In response a UK Government spokesman said: "No national government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy but we will continue to support businesses in navigating the months ahead. This includes reducing employer national insurance by increasing the employment allowance, slashing fuel duty, introducing a 50% business rates relief and putting the brakes on bill increases by freezing the business rates multiplier – worth £4.6bn over the next five years." Go here to read the detail of a massive energy price support package announced by new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday,
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