NHS money needs to be invested in developing more preventive services for older people, Ian Philp has warned.

The older people's tsar said it would be a challenge for social services departments to avoid raising eligibility criteria for domiciliary care as a result of the increasing number of people being cared for in their own homes.

Funding from the health service would enable local authorities to invest in what he called "anticipatory care", which would benefit the NHS by reducing the number of people needing to be hospitalised when problems became severe.

Philp also warned professionals working in health and social care that they would have to be more open about sharing client information in the future.

Philp said one of the biggest challenges over the next few years was to ensure that "vested interests" did not get in the way of service developments.

He singled out doctors for particular criticism for taking what he called a "professional protectionist" approach to passing on details of their patients.

"Everyone is protective, but we are breaking that down. I would like everyone to sign up to the principle that it is the person's information and records so that eventually all excuses start to disappear."