The care system is in crisis because of cuts to local authority (LA) budgets accompanied by increasing costs of employing staff. Even the best care homes are struggling with this and have to charge considerably more than LA's can pay to make any profit. This means we have a residual poorly funded system for those who have to rely on LA funding.

There are homes and domiciliary providers that no social worker would wish to place their relative in but they have no choice because of the agreed funding limits. Until we sort out social care, the NHS will struggle as older people have more admissions with accidents and dehydration and then stay in hospital longer because services aren't there for them on discharge.