Gillian Wagner, who has died aged 98, spent more than 30 years raising the standard of residential care in Britain, the most neglected and maligned and the least appreciated area of social care.
It was her appointment in 1986 to chair what became known as the Wagner committee into residential care that projected her on to the national stage at a time when the service was undervalued and a poor relation to the NHS, with low-paid staff.
