Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, responding to new figures from Age UK showing that nearly two million NHS days have been lost since 2010 as people remain in hospital waiting for social care, at a cost of over £526 million to the taxpayer, said:

“These figures from Age UK are shocking proof of the crisis in care that has developed under David Cameron – and the waste of taxpayers’ money that he is presiding over.

“Fewer elderly people are receiving the vital services that help them get up, washed, dressed and fed so they can stay living independently at home. This isn’t good for them and it’s a false economy too, with hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on people trapped in more expensive hospital beds when they don’t need to be. The money being spent keeping people in hospital could pay for millions of hours of home care.

“It’s especially concerning that more than 2,000 district nurses and community matrons, who deliver essential care services locally, have been lost since 2010.

“We urgently need Labour’s plans to integrate NHS and social care, which are the reforms we need to get the best care for elderly people and the best value for taxpayers’ money.”