Vulnerable patients in England will get better support in the community as part of plans to ease pressure on hospitals, ministers say.

Joint teams of social care workers and NHS staff such as nurses and physios will become available seven days a week under the changes being unveiled.

The move is part of the government's Better Care Fund to join up the NHS and council-run social care systems.

It comes as a new analysis showed hospitals were under growing pressure.

The King's Fund think tank's quarterly monitoring report, covering the period from June to September, found that 5% of patients were spending four or more hours in A&E - the highest level at this time of year for a decade.


The review also highlighted that waiting times for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, had reached their highest levels since 2008 with 12.1% of patients waiting more than 18 weeks.

Meanwhile, the latest figures for the 62-day target for cancer treatment also show that it is being missed, although those figures only cover the period to June.

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If this is likely to work, the council-run social care systems need to be looked at.
Main concern, with this care in the home is when an elderly patient is needing help at home, the agency can send out anyone who is on their payroll.
Bad idea, as having to clean, bath and change incontinent elderly ladies and gentlemen is not easy for anyone. The carers do not have nursing skills and to put an unqualified male care worker into a position of homecare for an elderly lady is NOT good for anyone. In fact it's downright worrying!