A KEY investigation into the under-pressure elderly care system in Worcestershire is due to reveal its findings this month, it has emerged.

Consultants from Oxford Brookes University, who have been tasked with probing the current state of adult care services for council chiefs, will wrap up their work before Christmas.

We revealed in October how Worcestershire County Council, which is having to deal with a demographic ticking timebomb, asked researchers to examine what issues it faces.

The sustainability of private care homes, rising numbers of pensioners and the impact of the £9-an-hour National Living Wage are all factors whipping up a potential storm.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Tom Wells chairs a County Hall committee which scrutinises adult care.

His panel has been told to expect to see the report on it in January, saying it is "very nearly complete".

"That review of the adult care marketplace is now very nearly complete and a draft report will come to our next meeting," he said.

"The feedback we've already got from providers of care homes is that the market is fragile, they've got inflationary pressures and the impact of the National Living Wage will be huge.

"So we've got to use this review to deal with the Tsunami that is likely to come down the line - we already know that by 2030 the could be spending its entire budget on adult social care.

"How we look after our frail, elderly people is a massive issue, and it does concern me because people are living a long time.

"We've got a large and growing cohort of people between 65 and 90 who are no longer dying, but living, there are thousands in that situation, often bereaved and isolated."

Of the £327 million county council budget around £127 million will go on adult care and health services this year - nearly 40 per cent of its total spend.

The Conservative leadership has earmarked £2 million towards linking up with technology companies to develop new gadgets aimed at keeping more elderly people in their own homes, as we revealed last month.

The move is a response to Worcestershire's serious demographic pressures, with one in five of the county's population aged over 65 now and those numbers forecast to rocket from 120,000 to 141,400 by 2021.

Oxford Brookes University's consultancy service started its work in September.

* County Hall to link up with technology firms in elderly care project - read all about it HERE.