Energy costs alarm Britons needing at-home kidney care

She uses the machine five days a week to pump clean blood around her body, replacing the work her kidneys would normally do.

Speaking in a purpose-built cabin in the garden of her home in southeast England, 59-year-old Dawn told Reuters that her condition would be fatal without intensive use of the machine.

White, who has renal failure, is one of 5,000 people who dialyse at home, out of 30,000 people on dialysis around the country, according to the patient advocacy group Kidney Care UK.

Britain will raise its energy price cap on Friday (August 26), meaning average annual bills for gas and electricity will jump markedly from October, with further hikes set for January and April.

The government has promised action to help those facing the predicament, saying on Monday that about 6 million disabled people in Britain would receive a one-off 150 pound Cost of Living payment next month on top of other financial help with rising energy bills.

For Dawn and Paul, her husband of 36 years, there is fear about what the next few months will bring.

If the couple cannot keep up with the higher charges, Dawn will have to receive treatment at the local hospital, which only has the capacity to treat her for 12 hours a week.

She said that would leave her feeling less well, reduce her independence and potentially make her less viable for a potentially life-changing transplant should her condition deteriorate.

Dawn estimates the machine already costs 200 pounds to run per month at current prices, and electricity bills are only set to go up.

Paul cares for Dawn full time and no longer works himself, so the couple’s income is limited to a carers allowance and government disability payments.

They have already cut back on energy use and are preparing to reduce the use of their central heating to try and save money.

Speaking during an uncharacteristically hot summer and with prices set to climb far higher, Paul, 61, said the couple “can’t do anymore” than they already have.

For Dawn, the looming winter months are a cause for concern, during which an electric heater uses power around the clock to maintain the equipment’s efficiency by keeping the temperature above 17 Celsius.

Kidney Care UK director Fiona Loud told Reuters that, without intervention from the government or the National Health Service (NHS), ever-rising energy costs will cause a crisis.

Loud explained that guidance from NHS England says hospital trusts should be reimbursing patients for the cost of at-home treatment, but that many people, like Dawn, have not yet received any funds.

While she is trying not to think about the price hikes, Dawn said she remains anxious about the coming months and hopeful that a future organ transplant may provide respite both medically and financially.