The rising costs of living

With the increase in energy bills and the overall costs of living we are working to understand how they are affecting you in order to see what we can do to help and to both raise awareness and influence energy policies. We are concerned about the impact these will have on kidney patients and their families.

As a group already disadvantaged by poor health, many with kidney disease are on low incomes, cannot work or are pensioners and are only just managing at the moment, and these rises in costs could be difficult to manage. Also lots of kidney patients are always cold, probably because of anaemia and fatigue. Last year the charity saw a huge increase in demand (47%) for our £300 immediate hardship grants and whilst we are doing our bit to help, these grants simply aren’t enough to paper over the cracks through which people may slip. You can check how the removal of the energy price cap will affect you. The government has announced some relief in the form of a £200 discount off your electricity bill, in the form of a loan that will be reclaimed in the next 5 years, and a reduction in council tax  for properties in bands A-D.  We do recommend that you look at the Ask Bill  website for hints and tips about reducing your energy bills.  

There are about 30,000 people with kidney failure on dialysis in the UK. Of these there are 5,000 people receiving dialysis treatment at home. Home haemodialysis costs people between £590 and £1,450 annually (before the price increases). Data from the UK Kidney Association shows that almost 1 in 4 (24%) of people facing these costs are in the most deprived group and almost half (44%) are in the two most deprived groups in society. In some parts of the country, patients are partially reimbursed by their hospitals but only after spending the money themselves. We want to see  practical changes to this system to give patients immediate financial relief. If you dialyse at home, we suggest that you ask your unit what reimbursement is available to you. Increasingly Kidney Care UK is receiving enquiries from people in difficulty about grants and fuel vouchers. We gave £594,000 in grants to patients last year and receive no government funding. 

For more information:

• See our resources about keeping warm at home.
• See our resources about benefits.
• See our resources about claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

If you are struggling, find emotional, financial and practical support on our hardship page.