Age UK invited me, along with my colleague Clive Betts, to talk with their volunteers and members about their Social Care Crisis campaign (with the aid of their inflatable piggy bank, Penny).

Their goal is to highlight the extra costs being incurred to the NHS in England by the lack of social care, which they estimate costs the NHS £500 a minute through older people being kept in hospital beds longer than necessary. They’re still waiting on a Green Paper on solving the crisis, which was due a year ago but is now expected in October.

They’re calling on the Government to fix the crisis and are touring the country to bring MPs up to speed with their campaign. In Sheffield we met Betty who was knitting for the Big Knit, and who also makes scarves for the Cathedral Archer Project. Age UK in Sheffield run a daily Wellbeing Centre at Norfolk Park, for people all over the city – you can find more information on it here.