A package of measures has been drawn up to improve the way older people are looked after following a damning report.

East Sussex County Council's Cabinet agreed the plans in response to criticism by the Audit Commission and Social Services Inspectorate.

Improvements include providing more support so people can stay in their own homes instead of going into residential care.

There are also plans to clear the large backlog of people still waiting to get support services such as home helps.

Council leader Peter Jones said the council fully accepted the findings and was already taking steps to improve services.

He said the council was shifting its focus from residential care to more support in the home, which meant strengthening links with local NHS services.

The report was drawn up after a visit to East Sussex last summer and autumn.

Lead reviewer Derek Sleigh said he had been "taken aback" at the long waiting list for assessments and the lack of support in the community. The department was not serving its elderly population well and needed to work more closely with voluntary groups and organisations and the NHS.

He said: "Many people using the services feel the council has become remote and difficult to get hold of.

"East Sussex has one of the largest elderly populations in England and there are some pockets of extreme deprivation.

"This means there is a lot of demand on services. There needs to be a better long-term strategy to take this into account."

The council says 7,000 people will be helped to live at home by the end of September, an increase of 500 since June 2001.

More than 440 new or upgraded home care packages are also being brought in, compared to 250 for the same period in 2001.

These include visits from meals-on-wheels, home helps and district nurses.

More intensive packages for more vulnerable elderly residents will increase from 60 to 150.

The council is also working to clear its waiting list by the end of July.