Pool NHS and local authority spending to fund care for older people, says think tank

doi:10.1136/bmj.c4121

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Andrew Cole

¹London

The new commission into the funding of social care should consider merging NHS and local authority spending on care for elderly people to keep costs in check, says a report from the right of centre think tank Policy Exchange.

The report points out that the NHS is already responsible for a quarter of the estimated £16.17bn (€19.3bn; $25bn) of public spending on long term care and that its contribution is set to rise substantially as cuts take effect in local government.

“It would be naive to think that reducing spending on …