CHAIRMAN of the Care Forum Wales Mario Kreft has warned the “triple whammy” of an ageing population, funding pressures and increasing costs could have a serious impact on the sector across the Vale of Glamorgan and the whole of Wales.

According to Public Health Wales the number of people aged 85 or older in Vale of Glamorgan will hit 8,500 by 2036, a 165 per cent increase on 2011.

Mr Kreft said the introduction of the living wage, which will see some staff get pay rises of 30 per cent over the next four years, will also impact on care homes and domiciliary care companies.

"Social care should be seen as being as important as our road and rail infrastructure,” he said.

“It helps to underpin the NHS and is the glue that binds communities together.

“We need a sustainable NHS that people can flow through, and this is where the care sector comes in.”

But he said a lack of connectivity between health boards and councils across Wales meant the system was “clearly dysfunctional”.

"Sadly, the reality is that fewer care beds are opening and more are closing and the end result is that more and more pressure is being put back on the NHS,” he said.

Although he said he was in favour of paying staff the living wage, Mr Kreft said he was concerned it was currently unknown where how the sector would pay for the pay rises.

"There is just no money to pay these increases," he said.

"Something has got to give and I'm afraid it will plunge the social care sector into an even deeper crisis unless the Welsh Government acts with urgency to resolve this triple whammy.”

But a Welsh Government spokesman refuted his claims, saying: “The social care sector in Wales is neither dysfunctional or failing.”

“Here in Wales we are investing in both our health and social care services,” he said.

“Our focus over the next five years will be to complete the biggest transformation of care in Wales for generations by successfully implementing the major pieces of social care legislation that were passed during the previous Assembly.

“There are undoubtedly challenges facing the sector, including the need to address conditions of employment for social care staff.

“Working with partners, we can build a social care system which provides high quality care for people, creates a rewarding environment for staff, and is sustainable for the future.”

There are currently 150,000 people in care homes or looked after by domiciliary care providers in Wales. The sector employs 75,000 staff, more than five per cent of the total Welsh workforce, and provides 23,000 beds, more than twice as many as are available on the NHS.