We face a crisis in our care homes in Wales. And unless a solution is found quickly, finding a place in a care home will be harder that trying to pull hen’s teeth.

It’s bad enough that our over-stretched and under-funded local authorities are unable to satisfy the need for more spaces and better care in a broken system. In Ceredigion alone, homes have shut thanks to cost-saving measures by the mean-spirited county council.

But sadly too, Brexit has has an adverse effect on workers who were willing to take up poorly-paid jobs in the sector. A decade on from that disastrous vote, care homes are crying out for staff willing and able to do the necessary work with our elderly.

Care homes across Wales could be forced to turn away elderly people with dementia unless ministers act to “fix the visa” for overseas staff.

In a stark warning ahead of the May 7 Senedd election, Care Forum Wales (CFW) says tightening immigration rules and the closure of visa routes are choking off a vital lifeline for the sector.

According to CFW, which represents more than 400 private and third sector care providers, the crisis is deepening because Wales has an ageing population and a shrinking working-age workforce.

Domiciliary care companies are also being badly hit with fears that providers lack capacity to look after people in their own homes.

In the manifesto CFW is urging the next Welsh Government to follow Scotland’s lead and take on direct sponsorship of social care visas, creating a stable and ethical route for overseas workers. And we at this publication believe that’s a necessary step to try and fix the problem.

Visa applications were already being driven down by negative rhetoric from Westminster, restrictions on dependants and tougher recruitment conditions.

It was also pushing existing overseas workers to consider leaving, exacerbating a chronic workforce shortage that is fuelling delayed hospital discharges and longer NHS waiting times.

But the Scottish Government has stepped in to sponsor overseas care workers left high and dry and facing deportation.

Come May 8, we believe that whom ever forms the next administration at Cardiff Bay should do the same.