Care provider Sheffcare says energy bills will be 11 times higher than normal – and could force homes to close | UK News

A leading home care provider is warning the energy crisis could force it to close some residential care homes unless there is urgent government intervention to help pay the bills. their fuel bill.

Claire Rintoul, chief executive of Sheffcare, told Sky News the company’s winter fuel bills will be 11 times higher than normal.

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

“We were quoted an extra £1.16 million. It didn’t work. It wasn’t a realistic number that we could afford. Worst case scenario, we close. That’s the situation. absolute worst case scenario.”

It’s not just energy bills that are putting the healthcare industry under unsustainable pressure. Recruiting and retaining employees is a real matter. Many care workers have been forced to leave low-paying jobs to find higher-paying and less stressful work in the retail sector.

That’s what June Hill didn’t want to do. She has worked at the Grange Crescent Care Home in Sheffield for 24 years, more than half of her adult working life. But now Mrs Hill accepts that she may be forced to quit her job to find a better paying job.

“Someone has to do it. Someone has to care about the residents. They become your family. I care about what happens to the residents here,” she said.

“I could go find work somewhere else, but I don’t want to and I don’t think I have to. Just give us enough to live on and we can pay the bills and we can heat the house and heating. our food. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”

Ms Hill worries about what will happen to her residents if the house is forced to close. “Who will take care of them?” she asked.

Bills for care homes have gone up in every department, from food to cleaning. Asha Oliver, the airline’s manager, said they are trying to save costs wherever possible. But she worries that she’s overspending on all her budgets.

“We can’t cut any more. You know, we can’t say, ‘Oh, it’s 10 o’clock at night. Turn the lights off.”

“You know, we can’t tell someone you’ve had three cups of tea today, that’s enough because we can’t keep the kettle on any more. We can’t cut any more, we can’t. I can not. “

For the energy company, Grange Crescent Residential Care Home is just another business struggling to pay its bills.

But for resident Carol Jessop, it’s more than just a business, it’s her home.

Ms. Jessop said she was lucky to have a son and daughter. But a lot of her friends are none other.

“Devastating, just devastating,” she said of the prospect of the house being closed. “I have family nearby, but many here have none.”

Angela Argenzio, co-chair of the city council’s adult health and social care policy committee, told Sky News: “Sheffield City Council recognizes the impact of the energy crisis and the cost of living. works for everyone, including the care sector and the people we support Sheffield.

“We are developing plans to support the response to the crisis, including the care sector and our most vulnerable residents.

“Rising energy costs are having a huge negative impact on people and businesses, and I believe the government needs to do more to protect people from adopting the bill as prices continue to soar.” .”