Health and care system 'under siege at times'

AGE UK has warned that the health and care system is "under unprecedented pressure in some places, at times virtually under siege".

- AINE FOX

In a new report, the charity called on the Government to make serious efforts to reduce the number of emergency hospital admissions for acute and chronic conditions that could be managed in the community to under 100,000 a year; guarantee that all older people diagnosed with severe frailty in the community receive at least a structured medication review and falls risk assessment; and cut the numbers of people delayed in hospital when fit for discharge back to pre-pandemic levels to around 4,500 on a typical day compared to 12,000 now. Age UK urged the commission into adult social care, led by Baroness Louise Casey, to publish its final report earlier than the 2028 timeline.