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Wales’ deputy minister for social care has said the country needs to “radically rethink” how older people are looked after “if we are to have a system that is fit for the future”.

Speaking to social care leaders from local governments across Wales, Julie Morgan MS spoke of how the country “already has the largest proportion of older people in the UK”.

Mrs Morgan continued: “Wales already has the largest proportion of older population in the UK, with more than one in five people aged 65 or over, and that proportion is only going to get bigger.”

It echoed recent calls made by Wales’ health minister, Eluned Morgan, who said pressures facing the Welsh NHS will continue to rise due to the aging population.

A Welsh Government consultation into social care reforms was held over the summer.

Last November, a report with recommendations was published by an expert panel set up by the Welsh Government to look into the creation of a National Care Service.

The Welsh Government has said it intends to publish its plan later this year, setting out how it will take the panel’s recommendations forward.

Speaking at the national conference of the Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru, Julie Morgan said: “It’s hard to find the words to do justice to the complete commitment social care staff across Wales show to the people they work with, in order to help them live the best possible life.

“I’m so impressed with the respect that people are treated with by our social care teams.

“You’ve really got to care, to do what our social care workforce do.”

She spoke of how “the very best” of the sector “shone through during the most difficult phases of the Covid pandemic,” and added: “I will never grow weary of thanking everyone in the social care sector who worked tirelessly through that period for everything they did.

“Amongst the tragic loss of life, the outcomes would have been worse for many people were it not for their enduring commitment, collaboration and expertise.”