Inside the Greater Manchester care homes where energy bills soar by 900pc and staff are on the brink of despair

Care home bosses across Greater Manchester fear they will be crippled by soaring energy bills as some providers admit they won't be able to pay this winter.

After a gruelling few years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the region's care homes are now facing yet another hurdle - as the the cost of gas and electricity is set to reach record levels.

The energy price cap will increase to £3,549 for the average household in October, and could rise again to £4,200 by January, plunging millions of people into fuel poverty.

READ MORE: New PM Liz Truss promises to 'deal' with people's energy bills

And whilst households across the country will receive some buffer from the government, care homes are yet to receive any financial support to stem the mounting cost of energy.

Craig Priestley is manager at Gorsey Clough care home in Bury and says they have no choice but to put their heating on 24 hours a day for seven days a week. He claims their energy bills have already doubled, and they are anxiously awaiting their next invoice.

Speaking to the M.E.N, he said: "It's absolutely shocking. Our bills have doubled and it's becoming an increasing worry. We went through covid and didn't do too badly but it's one issue after another.

"I want to maintain high standards of care and I don't want to cut back on food or nursing staff to pay for energy bills. I can only hope that the government introduces support like they did during the pandemic.

"We care for vulnerable people with dementia and we have the heating on 24-7 and that's not negotiable. I just don't want to be cutting down on quality and I don't think it's fair to increase prices."

One care home manager in Greater Manchester admitted that if the government don't step in