The Liberal Democrats have criticised the long-term funding system for personal care for the elderly after provisional figures released by the NHS Information Centre revealed elderly people paid £1.6bn in charges last year.
Health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "The government has been dithering over reform for too long. We need radical reform of the system now."
For details, see www.ic.nhs.uk
The next stages of health and social care reform come with major political hurdles, writes Richard Sloggett.
A failure to provide the right models of care is forcing thousands more people to attend emergency departments each day, the Care Quality Commission has said, while warning of a “perfect storm” for the health service this winter.
Boris Johnson’s government has proposed to create a new patient safety regulator with statutory powers, and deregulation of medicines and devices.
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Financial penalties are being lifted from high-profile standards including cancer and elective waiting times, so far without attracting much attention. How is this happening? And will it work, asks Rob Findlay
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