British public health executives have warned that soaring energy prices could force hospitals to cut staff and services.
A survey by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) of National Health Service (NHS) trusts — the local administrative bodies of the state healthcare system — found that most expected their gas and electricity bills to at least double over the winter.
Hospitals are expected to be swamped with cases of hypothermia and more common winter ailments as Brits, especially pensioners, struggle to pay bills once regulator Ofgem raises its price cap on domestic fuel tariffs by 80 percent in September. Some households have even said they plan to keep their central heating turned off over the winter.
But the price cap does not cover non-domestic users such as businesses or public buildings, who face unrestrained hikes in costs amid the energy crisis caused by Western sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in the Ukraine.
The famous Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London said it expected to pay £650,000 per month in January and February 2023 — compared to £350,000 for the same months this year.
Sheffield children’s NHS foundation trust said it expected its bills to be 130 percent higher this winter — although it has a price lock deal with its supplier until March next year.
Also in Yorkshire, Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust forecast a £2 million per month rise in energy costs in January and February over the previous year, a rise of 110 percent, according to its estates and facilities director Craige Richardson.
And Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust predicted it would pay more than three times as much, an increase of 214 percent. NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire finance director Marcus Pratt said the hospital trust was budgeting for a £27 million rise in its annual energy costs compared to the 2021-22 financial year.
The NHS Confederation, whose members include both NHS trusts and private healthcare firms, urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson's soon-to-be-announced successor to give £4 billion in extra funding to trusts — or they would start laying off staff.
"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 confederation's senior acute lead Rory Deighton warned.
"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," Deighton said. "The NHS needs at least £4 billion to make up for inflation during this year alone, and that is before we face a winter of even higher wholesale energy prices."
He said failing to compensate NHS organizations for inflation would only increase pressure on the service in the run-up to a "particularly challenging" winter.