UK fuel supply crisis hits frontline care home workers

Staff shortages, cancelled activities, missed hospital appointments: Britain's fuel supply crisis is biting at care facilities like Chipstead Lake, a home for adults with physical disabilities.

As the country enters a second week of delivery shortfalls and long lines at petrol stations, key workers in sectors such as residential care have been left exasperated -- and demanding prioritisation.

Some have missed shifts after lacking the fuel to drive to work, while others have been forced to spend hours searching or queuing for available petrol, adding fatigue and stress to an already gruelling profession.

Linda Addo, manager at Chipstead Lake in Kent, southeast England, and another nearby nursing home, said the problems were impacting residents. 

"They were important hospital appointments and they missed them because we just didn't have the drivers," she told AFP. A quarter of staff did not make it to a recent morning shift at the other nursing home for 40 adults requiring more specialised care in neighbouring East Sussex, she added. 

"It affects the residents because then they will have to wait longer for care and also for the staff who are on shift (and) will have to work more, so they will get exhausted," said Addo.

Staff who can get to work are "doing two people's jobs".

"Some (vulnerable residents) need three people to give them personal care... they rely on staff for basically everything," she said.

"Whether it will get better, I don't know. It's quite an anxious time... it's unsettling for everyone."

Shut in again

The crisis began late last week when a small number of petrol stations closed due to supply issues caused by a shortage of tanker drivers, triggering a rush for the pumps.

The government and industry insist there is no actual shortage of fuel, but the ramped-up demand has continued, and troops are set to start making deliveries from Friday.

At Chipstead Lake, relatives of some of the 24 residents have been unable to visit, while the home's two vehicles -- a minibus and a car -- used for day trips have been grounded to conserve petrol.