Health unions have been under strain that extra fuel cost could cause more stress on the budgets. UK has already been under strain due to their cost-of-living and also soaring inflation rates.
Campaigners warned about the crisis in patient care as hospitals are forced to find more cash to meet record fuel price surge. An article published in Medical journal revealed that some hospitals may be forced to pay more than 200% more for fuel costs. Campaigners are warning that patients care could be compromised without action from the record increases in energy costs. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it was expecting to pay an extra euro2 million a month for electricity and gas in January and February 2023 compared with the same months this year. Nottingham University hospitals NHS Trust said it budgeted for a 214% increase in electricity and gas costs for 2022-2023.
Health unions said they were worried that the extra fuel costs could impact on already stained budgets. RCN general secretary and chief executive said that, “health and care services need the funding for sufficient levels of fairly paid staff, without threats of other cuts”. The fuel surge means that the staff are paying the costs from their own pockets to care for patients in the community. Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said,” The NHS is in the biggest crisis in its history, and it’s set to get worse this winter”.
There has been a chaotic situation in home cares and hospitals saying that they can no longer pay their energy bills and briefings from government like cancer, maternity and mental health should be clubbed as priority medical needs. Trust leaders are also worried about the impact of rising fuel bills.
National Health Service have come under emergency due to fuel and energy bills rising continuously. Russia-Ukraine war should come to an end for world needs its solution from inflation and cost-of-living crisis. People have will have to suffer from longer waiting time for medical aids, or will have to work with under-staff. Or there can be other areas where patient care should be cut back. As Marx said that, ” Capital is reckless of the health or length of life of the labour, unless under compulsion from society”. Therefore capitalism will not care about the situation of the health of the people its, the people who will have to care for themselves.
