Elderly NHS patients' harrowing plight is revealed in report

[Hopeless Romantic]

Some elderly patients were given no help to eat or left in urine-soaked clothes, according to the health service ombudsman

The NHS is inflicting pain and suffering on elderly patients and ignoring their most basic needs, according to a report by the health service ombudsman which highlights cases where vulnerable patients were failed.

Some patients were not offered help with eating or bathing, and one was left in urine-soaked clothes held together with paper clips.

Older people too often did not receive the care, compassion and respect they deserved, according to the ombudsman, Ann Abraham.

Her report cites 10 cases inadequately investigated by the NHS, in which elderly men and women were treated appallingly, often towards the end of their lives. It details serious failings in how NHS staff managed the patients' pain, nutritional needs and discharge from hospital, often with disastrous consequences.

Her disclosures led to calls for the NHS to urgently overhaul its care of the elderly.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/15/nhs-report-elderly