Care homes need to prioritise wifi to make sure grandchildren come to visit, care minister Caroline Dinenage has said.

Speaking at an event in London the minister said not enough homes allowed their residents to access wi-fi.

She said internet access could help older people stay in touch with their families and encourage younger members to come and visit more often.

"Wi-fi actually can encourage your grandchildren to come and visit. Because they will sit there, and you can do something together," she said.

Dementia patients can be helped by "incredible online tools to help people and trigger memories and for therapeutic things," she added.

Online systems are available which allow patients and their families to upload photo albums, music playlists and videos that they can then watch together.

She added that a lack of internet access could cause problems with access to medical care and information as well as making it more difficult to organise staff rotas.