Nursing care reforms which come into force today have been described as "unworkable, unfair and unjust" by a leading charity.

Age Concern is critical of the new arrangements, which provide free nursing care but introduce charges for "personal" care, in contrast to the policy being implemented in Scotland where all care is to be funded by the state.

The charity says there is confusion about what will happen when the changes come in to force. It highlights concerns about how health authorities will pay nursing homes before all the residents who are currently paying for their own care are properly assessed.

Forum Response: The King's Fund

A spokesman for the King's Fund told ePolitix.com said: "The government's plan to divide personal and nursing care, means-testing people for the former while providing the later free of charge, does not go far enough to remove the inconsistencies of the existing system of long-term care funding. Asking people to pay for their own personal care is neither realistic for most, nor is it supported by the majority of voters. The result is that the new system may indeed prove unworkable within a few years."

Forum Response: Nestor Healthcare

A spokesman for Nestor Healthcare told ePoltix.com: "Nestor Healthcare entirely endorses Age Concern's criticism. Care needed to maintain people's health and wellbeing is healthcare and should be funded from taxes. Separation of personal care from nursing is arbitrary and unreasonable. The ridiculously tight definition of nursing is both a symptom of how arbitrary the separation is and also a terrible indictment of the government's determination to pull back from their responsibility to pay for care."

"We are worried that budgets for 'free nursing' will be limited. If a budget holder runs out of money, people may have to wait to receive care. The government will effectively be introducing waiting lists for nursing homes. It is worth noting that, although many people have to pay for nursing they receive at home, Government insist that it is either their own choice to 'go private' or else they don't need nursing at all - that the NHS already deliver free home nursing to whoever needs it. Our experience does not support that view."

"We agree that the administrative systems are unclear and impractical. Interpretations of the nursing assessment will vary, across the country. Timescales are so short they have already had to draw back from implementing the policy for people currently in nursing homes and funded by local authorities. Our biggest worry is for some those people. When the policy is applied to them, local authorities will stop paying for nursing care. If someone fails the new NHS nursing test, who will pick those costs up?"