Many elderly people are being forced to choose between going thirsty and going to the lavatory because more home care visits last for only 15 minutes, a charity has warned.

Three fifths of councils regularly tell carers to spend only a quarter of an hour with elderly and disabled people in a “conveyor-belt” approach condemned as cruel by campaigners. The number of 15-minute visits to wash, dress and feed the vulnerable has increased by 15 per cent in the past five years, according to figures compiled by Leonard Cheshire Disability.

In a report that will alarm those who rely on care workers to check on ageing parents at home, the charity said that such “flying” visits were depriving elderly and disabled people of essential care,