Rising energy costs 'affect NHS'

The ambulance service has faced rising fuel costs

Rising fuel and energy costs are hitting health trust budgets in Wales, according to a survey by two Plaid Cymru assembly members.

The fuel bill for the Wales Ambulance Trust alone has risen from £2.6m to £3.8m in five years.

Meanwhile, the assembly government has announced an extra £5.8m over two years to help fight fuel poverty in Wales.

The new money will go towards heating and insulation measures for vulnerable people in their homes.

Environment Minister Jane Davidson said it would take funding for the home energy efficiency scheme (HEES) to £23m for 2008-2009.

"The most vulnerable people in Wales are the least able to pay rising gas and electricity bills," she said.

"We are looking at what we can do within the areas of the assembly government's powers to mitigate this and we are determined to do everything we can to work with key players, such as energy suppliers, to reduce energy costs for households in Wales."

Already the initiative has helped 93,000 households in Wales, at a total cost of £95m, to a maximum value of £3,600 per home.

Plaid Cymru, highlighting rising bills for health trusts, said some hospital energy costs had doubled.

South Wales Central AM Leanne Wood said the figures were "no surprise" but price controls would help health trusts make ends meet.

Ms Wood and fellow AM Chris Franks obtained the figures from trusts under the Freedom of Information Act.

RISING ENERGY COSTS Abertawe Bro Morgannwg: £3.36m to £6.13m Welsh Ambulance: £284,000 to £635,000 (fuel costs have risen £2.65m to £3.87m) Cardiff & Vale: £3.47m to £6.81m Cwm Taf: £2.39m (2004) to £3.44m Felindre: £411,000 to £769,000 (2006) Gwent: £2.89m to £5.6m Hywel Dda: £2.19m to £4m N Wales: £2.15m to £3.2m NW Wales: £951,000 to £2.03m Source: Energy costs, 2003-2004 to 2007-2008, FOI information to Plaid Cymru

They said they found over the last five years trusts have had to find almost £32m in energy costs from NHS budgets compared to less than £19m in 2003-04.

Fuel costs have risen from nearly £3.5m to almost £5m.

Ms Wood added: "These figures are no surprise given that the average Welsh family is paying £517 more for gas and £236 more for electricity than five years ago.

"At the same time UK energy companies' profits have risen by 538%. A windfall tax on excess profits is needed."

Mr Franks added: "These increases for the NHS are really significant. Energy prices in particular have shot up over the last five years and that puts an increased burden on our health services.

"Plaid acknowledges that money spent on energy and fuel cannot go into frontline public services."

"The ambulance service has also suffered significantly from the rise in fuel costs.

"It illustrates the impact the huge increases in costs are having on the NHS as well as individual home owners and tenants across Wales."

Three years ago, the auditor general for Wales warned that trusts and hospital staff needed to "sharpen up" in terms of energy efficiency, as prices rose.