Increasing numbers are being left without support to get out of bed, dress, wash or go to the lavatory, according to the letter to the Prime Minister signed by a coalition of leading NHS and health leaders, with millions more relying on unpaid care from relatives and friends.

The four-page letter, seen by The Sunday Times, is the first time such groups have united to raise concerns over social care and states that the “perilous state” of the sector had become a “national disgrace”.

The Government is being urged to act after promising a solution to the crisis, with a green paper setting out how to fund social care delayed several times.