Think tank urges action to stop ‘slow erosion’ of primary and community care

Primary and community care should be prioritised to ensure England’s health system is effective and sustainable, a think tank has said.

The King’s Fund also warned that the “answer to overcrowded hospitals is not more hospitals”.

A new report compiled by the organisation suggests that the lack of investment in primary and community healthcare is “one of the most significant and long-running” policy failures for more than three decades.

It is calling for a clear vision to bolster primary care services, more funding and more staff incentives to work in those settings, and reforms for the social care system.