Ministers seek volunteer social care army to speed up hospital discharges

Exclusive: volunteers sought in England to take equipment and drugs to people’s homes among other tasks

Health ministers are to recruit a new volunteer army for social care to ferry medical equipment and drugs to people’s homes in a bid to free up congested hospital wards.

The plan will also see volunteers sent to, though not into, people’s homes to tackle loneliness and carry out shopping and other errands.