Patients, including the elderly, are being hit by a lack of co-ordination in health and social care, watchdogs have warned The “fragmented” nature of health and social care services can cause problems for patients with providers sometimes arguing over who has responsibility for giving care, watchdogs have found. The division of labour and “poor communication” among providers often leads to complaints from family members about care services, a joint report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsman has found.