Fuel poverty fear for cancer patients
9:13am Thursday 24th January 2013 in News
CANCER patients in Bolton ended the year struggling to cope with their fuel bills and relying on grants given out by Macmillan Cancer Support.
The cancer charity saw a dramatic spike in requests for grants in the last week of 2012 and paid out £16,263 which was 38 per cent higher than the weekly average for 2012. More than 49 per cent of the people in Lancashire helped during this period were given grants towards heating bills.1 These figures back up recent Macmillan research showing about 27,000 cancer patients in the UK could be behind with paying their fuel bills and owe their fuel providers as much as £2.8 million in overdue payments. Fuel bills often rise because cancer patients are spending more time at home and often feel colder because of their illness.
Nick Mudge, interim general manager of Macmillan Cancer Support in Northern England, said: “While most of us were enjoying the festive period, cancer patients were clearly in desperate need of financial support.
“Cancer patients need to put their energy into getting better. Instead many are living in cold homes anxious about how they’re going to cope with rocketing fuel bills.”
For more information call 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.org.uk/ heating
