Care homes in Wales could fill 20,000 vacancies "by the end of the week" if they could find the staf

Mario Kreft, chairman of Care Forum Wales, said the sector was facing its worst crisis "in living memory". He said the care sector had been left in a "fragile state" by the pandemic and called for staff to be paid more.

The Welsh government said it had provided £48m to help local authorities ease pressures in social care but Mr Kreft said he was dreading the winter as the sector reached a "critical point".