Community care is far cheaper for society than having families take on extra dependants, especially at the most taxable end of their lives. Its interactions wit

Community care is far cheaper for society than having families take on extra dependants, especially at the most taxable end of their lives. Its interactions with the economy are very much like childcare. But neither are happening. Old people are abandoned to healthcare providers. This, in turn impacts on the life expectancy of much younger people requiring emergency care who won't get it because the hospital and ambulances are full. It's not sustainable for patients or providers. There are two ways out. Choose to do this properly, or choose a much uglier withdrawal of care for the old and infirm. Before you choose, remember that these are people who worked for 45 years being told that their National Insurance payments were paying it forward for this kind of care. If you're going to change the rules —and especially if you're going to start incinerating grandmas when they get "too costly"— you have to expect the next generation probably isn't going to stick around. Many of that exodus will be doctors.