The Government's plans to give patients the choice of five hospitals could increase health inequalities, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has warned.

Following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to empower NHS patients to shop around for the best treatment option in a bid to cut waiting times, ADASS joint chief executive Cathie Williams said: ‘We would need to know more details about the proposals to see how this would impact social care but organising those alternative options sounds like it would fall to one or both of general practice or social care.