Governments – all governments – produce hundreds of reports every year. This is partly because they all set up hundreds of reviews that all – at one time or another -have to report their findings. So it’s tempting to see the Dilnot report as just another report from just another review.

This would be a mistake. The reality of an ageing society is now all around us and will create more and more stresses on our social and economic reality. From previous posts on this blog and from the NHS itself we already know that Long Term Conditions will in the future cost the NHS an increasing amount of resource every year primarily because of the ever increasing number of people who live to be older than 85. We know that this increase in demand for health care from much older people is going to force the NHS to radically change the way in which the whole service delivers health care for people with Long Term Conditions.