Better Care, Better Health

Better elderly care would bring a better health service.

So if the Government's ambitious health plans are to stand a chance, they'd do well to invest in care too.

There are many close links between care services for the elderly and the NHS.

The most obvious is beds. If we don't have enough convalescence beds or enough nursing home beds, we must care for elderly patients in hospital beds, with knock-on effects for waiting times elsewhere.

More importantly, if we improve the quality of care elderly patients receive in their own homes, many believe there would be fewer hospital admissions in the first place. If there were fewer financial penalties for the most elderly to choose to receive more full-time care, once again the NHS benefits.

That's why the Liberal Democrat health campaign has made care for the elderly a priority.

Liberal Democrats within the Scottish Government have pushed through free personal care for the elderly. It's being introduced there this July. This week we presented a huge national petition to the Prime Minister - including hundreds of signatures from local people - calling for free personal care across the rest of the UK.

A survey of care home places locally undertaken by Councillor Rolson Davies and myself revealed how much pressure there is on the sector: it needs more financial stability and less bureaucracy. It's hardly rocket science, but it's needed urgently.