Exclusive Dramatic cuts to social care budgets are placing practices under mounting pressure, with GPs forced to send patients to hospital because there is nowhere in the community for them to go, a Pulse investigation reveals.

Council-funded physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, elderly care and mental health services are among the victims of an average 4.7% cut in council social care budgets across England, with practices increasingly left to pick up the slack for axed services.

Key services for vulnerable patients – including legal aid, welfare services and public health campaigns – are also being hit.

This month saw Manchester City Council become the latest authority to announce millions of pounds of social care cuts, with services for the elderly, disabled, mentally ill and victims of domestic violence hit by a fresh round of cuts totalling £8.6m.