Capital offers opinion on future of care

The Department of Health has announced that London residents have given their contributions to the ongoing debate on the future of care and support on the health service.

Public health, social care and NHS professionals have met with care service minister Ivan Lewis and local third sector bodies to discuss their opinions on the best means of developing a care and support system that will function into the future.

The minister is currently engaged in a tour of nine regions across the country to garner views on this issue with a goal of forging new reforms to help people stay active, care for family members have the best quality of life and retain maximum dignity.

Mr Lewis said: “It is essential that we hear Londoners views on how we create a high quality, affordable care system for a rapidly ageing population in a way that promotes independence, choice and control for everyone.”

He noted that the number of people in Greater London over the age of 65 will have risen to over one million in two decades, while the number of people aged over 85 will have risen to more than 140,000.

Last week, the DoH announced that the Health and Social Care Act 2008 had received its Royal Assent and become law.