A charity boss has said the Government's pledge to provide free care for older people must kick-start wider reform.

The Counsel and Care chief executive, Stephen Burke, pushed for politicians to work on more ways of helping the old after a Bill was introduced last November containing the free-care promise.

The Personal Care at Home Bill, which is awaiting approval from the Hose of Lords, outlined free care for the most vulnerable as part of a pledge to help 400,00 elderly people.

However, Mr Burke said the Bill should be followed up by action from politicians to ensure people cared for at home were not isolated.

He added: "Clearly better care at home is what most older people want and if it's free, then even better. But we need to ensure that proper support is available in local communities so that staying at home doesn't mean loneliness, isolation and neglect. It has to mean more than four 15-minute visits a day, rushing older people in and out of bed with no support to eat proper meals, chat and enjoy life."

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