The government’s lack of focus on social care is perplexing. But whatever the policy development process, it is clear our country’s approach to social care will never be the same again.

The Covid inquiry may take years but, as with Grenfell, the evidence will be powerful. Unless it wants to lose the next election, the government will have to act. As Jeremy Hunt said, it really is a do-or-die moment for the Conservatives.

Hunt argues that, without change, “the system will carry on doing what it always has done”. That is: export its most vulnerable patients back into NHS hospitals. The danger here is that the solution focuses on safety nets and high-acuity care. We say: think harder about how to break the correlation between old age and vulnerability, because here lies one of the biggest prizes.

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