Care homes will ‘go to the wall’ over energy costs putting further strain on the NHS

Experts warn ‘perfect storm’ will affect the health service

Many care homes could be forced to close because of sky high energy bills this winter putting further strain on the NHS, experts in the sector have warned.

Providers cannot cut back on consumption and will “go to the wall” because “there’s nowhere to go”, they warned.

Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG), which represents social care providers in North Yorkshire, said some homes had been told their costs would rise by 600 per cent.

Extras like refurbishment plans had already been put on hold amid fears over how much they would be asked to pay in the coming months, he said.

But care homes, which look after elderly residents or vulnerable adults, did not have the option to cut back on their heating this winter.

“We can’t be any more efficient when we are. There’s nowhere to go. We will pay the costs, but I do fear that some providers will go to the wall and with that happening it affects the NHS,” he said.

He described the situation as a “perfect storm again” after the toll the Covid epidemic took on the social care sector and the health service in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The new prime minister is under pressure to announce measures to help public services like schools, hospitals and care homes deal with skyrocketing energy costs.

Earlier this week one leading care home provider said it could be forced to shut some of its residential care homes without urgent government intervention.

Claire Rintoul, the chief executive of Sheffcare, told Sky News its fuel bills would be 11 times higher than normal this year.

"We pay around £90,000 a year for fuel well across all of our nine homes," she said.

"We’ve been quoted £1.16m extra. It just doesn’t work. That is just not a realistic figure that we can afford. The worst-case scenario, we close down. That is the absolute worst-case scenario."