The government has been urged not to blame social care capacity for delays to hospital discharge, and to ensure the sector has enough funding to meet demand.
Government plans to increase the number of hospital beds and ambulances to meet the growing care demands being placed on the NHS will depend on a long-term workforce plan, an expert has said.
Sustained long-term investment in community and social care is the key to managing NHS pressures, despite new government funding to speed up hospital discharging, experts have warned.
