AS someone who spent much of their working life in adult social care and now looks after a disabled husband, I know how difficult it can be when someone needs help with basic tasks such as washing, dressing, eating or getting in and out of bed.

This can be all the more difficult when people worry about the expense of having to pay care charges for support that they need.

I think most readers would be really shocked to see how much people are often expected to pay in care charges.

I was really pleased to see that elderly people in England will receive free personal care under Labour’s plans for a National Care Service.

We need to get away from the idea of a society based on selfishness and greed in order to try and develop a society where people look out for each other and where those who are most vulnerable get the support that they so desperately need.

Joan Pritchard-Jones