Ed Davey said the Liberal Democrats would provide “better social care” with more and “better paid” care professionals in his close speech of this year’s party conference.

In his speech, which signalled the launch of the Lib Dems general election campaign, Davey said the crisis in the NHS was “inextricably linked to the crisis in care”.

He added: “We know that you can’t fix the NHS without fixing social care. We know you can’t fix the NHS without valuing family carers. Fix care and you fix the NHS. 

“Better social care, with many more care professionals, better paid. More support for family carers, so people can cope better looking after loved ones.

“These are low-tech, affordable ways to save our NHS – investing in care. So people can be discharged more quickly. Or don’t need hospital care in the first place. So pressure on overstretched hospitals can be reduced.

“So patients aren’t stuck for hours waiting to be seen in A&E. So ambulances aren’t stuck for hours waiting outside A&E to hand over patients. It’s all connected.”

The party leader said the Lib Dems’ plans for social care and family care were a “central part of our plan for the future health service” and a key part of “our plan for the economy”.

Earlier during the conference, Davey unveiled a pledge of £5 billion each year for free personal care.

The pledge was welcomed as a “good step forward” by Sam Monaghan, chief executive of MHA, who added: “The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey MP, has put social care front and centre as part of his offering to voters – recognising that it is one of the biggest challenges facing the country today.”

Responding to Davey’s closing conference speech, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers said: “The leader of the Liberal Democrats rightly acknowledges that improvements to the NHS and social care are long overdue.

“For too long, patients have been paying the price for chronic underfunding and under-resourcing of the health and care system.

“We welcome their commitment to reforming social care. Until the sector is put on a sustainable footing, and care workers are appropriately rewarded for the vital work they do, challenges for the whole health and care system will continue to pile up.”