Hospital trusts in England face “eye-watering” rises in energy bills of £2m a month each due to the fuel price surge, with NHS leaders saying patients may face longer waiting times or even see their care “cut back” as a result.
NHS trusts are concerned they will have to make critical choices on staff levels and the services they provide in order to keep operating, with energy costs predicted to be as much as three times higher than a year ago.
Bills for non-domestic customers such as hospitals are not subject to the price cap announced by Ofgem, which is rising by 80% in October, and are therefore even more vulnerable to surging wholesale prices.
The BMJ surveyed NHS trusts in England for details of their recent and predicted future energy bills and how they expected to operate this coming winter when taking into account the additional energy charges on the way. Most said they expected their energy bills to double at least.
The Great Ormond Street hospital for children NHS foundation trust in London said it anticipated a combined gas and electricity bill of about £650,000 a month in January and February next year – an increase from about £350,000 in the same months this year.
The Sheffield children’s NHS foundation trust expects its total energy bill for 2022-23 to be almost 130% higher than in 2021-22 although it may be able to avoid some of the extra costs because it is locked into current prices with its energy supplier until the end of March 2023.
Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust said it had budgeted for a 214% increase in electricity and gas costs for 2022-23.
Marcus Pratt, the programme director for system finance at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust forecasted an increase in budget for annual energy costs of approximately £27m compared with costs in 2021-22.
The Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust director of estates and facilities, Craige Richardson, said the trust anticipated paying an extra £2m a month for electricity and gas combined in January and February 2023 when compared with the same months this year, a rise of around 110%.
In May this year, NHS England estimated rising energy prices would cost the NHS £485m more in 2022-23 than had been budgeted for when NHS planning guidance was issued last December.
It set aside £1.5bn from its existing budget to cover this £485m energy increase plus various other inflationary pressures on the NHS, such as fuel costs for ambulance services, private finance initiative contracts, and local authority care prices.
But energy prices have continued to spiral and are set to rise further still next year.
Rory Deighton, senior acute lead at the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: “This isn’t an abstract problem, as the gap in funding from rising inflation will either have to be made up by fewer staff being employed, longer waiting times for care, or other areas of patient care being cut back.
“The new prime minister must provide a top-up in this autumn’s budget or any emergency budget they hold to make up the shortfall. The NHS needs at least £4bn to make up for inflation during this year alone, and that is before we face a winter of even higher wholesale energy prices.
“A failure to properly compensate the NHS for inflation will only heighten pressure on our health service as we move towards a winter that we know will be particularly challenging this year.”
