The Royal College of Nursing has claimed that the community health services are being affected and could reach a breaking point as nurses are being overloaded with additional work.

RCN General Secretary Peter Carter said that nurses would express their concerns during their annual conference, which is expected to be addressed the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. The association said that the cuts to councils and hospitals have resulted in overburdening of nurses within the NHS.

The claims are based on a new research that included online feedback from nearly 2,700 nurses in the community including district nurses working for GP practices as well as in mental health. About 9 out of 10 nurses said that their work load has increased over the last year and some say that they even have to perform duties of council social care teams like shopping and making meals for the patients.

Ministers are aiming to move community care away from hospitals and bring them to the community. NHS heads believe that about a quarter of the patients in NHS hospitals can be provided with the same treatment in the comfort of their homes.

RCN said the initiatives of moving care to the community were proving to be a "facade" as community services were "under-invested and over-burdened".