New prime minister must provide extra NHS funding to cover rising fuel costs, say health bosses

An investigation by The BMJ has revealed that some hospitals in England will see an extra £2 million per month added to their energy bills.

The news comes as the energy regulator Ofgem announced that the price cap on gas and electricity will rise by 80% from October. However, non-domestic organisations are not protected by the cap, so do not have a limit on their tariffs.

To gauge how much hospitals are expecting to spend this winter, The BMJ spoke to several trusts in England about they are preparing for the price hike.

Some trusts planning for a 200% increase in fuel costs

They found that most trusts said they expected their energy bills to at least double, with some planning for a more than 200% increase.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust in London, for example, said that it anticipated a combined gas and electricity bill of around £650,000 a month in January and February 2023 – an increase from around £350,000 in the same months this year.

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said it expected its total energy bill for 2022-23 to be almost 130% higher than in 2021-22. This is despite the fact that the trust has been able to stem some of the extra costs thanks to a deal with its energy supplier – they are locked into the same price tariff until the end of March 2023.

In another extreme case, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said it had budgeted for a 214% increase in electricity and gas costs for 2022-23.

Fears that without extra funding, patient care could suffer

NHS England has set aside 1.5bn from its existing budget to cover the cost increase, but health bosses are concerned that this sum may not go far enough considering prices are considered to rise again by 50% next year.

Rory Deighton, senior acute lead at the NHS Confederation, told The BMJ: “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 £3.4bn 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.”

Lauren Nicolle

Lauren is a qualified journalist who writes primarily across the health and social care sectors. She is passionate about exposing the injustices faced by people with a learning disability, with a particular focus on equal access to healthcare.

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