A damning new report has claimed that many elderly people are denied even basic standards of care within the NHS.

The report, by the Health Service Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, shows the contrast between the principles and guidelines written in the NHS constitution and the reality faced by many elderly people relying on the NHS for their care. The ombudsman investigated 10 of the worst cases in which patients suffered pain, indignity and distress which were among the 9,000 complaints reported to the ombudsman last year. Of the 10 patients highlighted in the report, nine subsequently died.

The 10 included one elderly woman who spent 13 weeks at Southampton University Hospital but was not given a bath or shower in that time. Her daughter also claimed that nursing staff put meals out of reach of patients. Another case involved a man with advanced cancer who was discharged from Royal Bolton Hospital in order to die at home. When relatives picked him up they said that he was so dehydrated he was unable to speak. He had been left with his water and his panic button both out of reach. He died three days later. In another case, at Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, medical staff turned off the life support of an elderly man despite being requested by the family to keep him alive until his sons arrived to see him for the last time.

Ann Abraham said that the 10 cases specifically mentioned in her report were not isolated cases and that of the 9,000 complaints received, 18% were relating to elderly patients. She denies that a shortage of money and resources were to blame, claiming instead that there was a failure to look beyond a patient's clinical condition and "respond to their social and emotional needs". She said: "The NHS must close the gap between the promise of care and compassion outlined in its Constitution and the injustice that many older people experience."

The care services minister, Paul Burstow, said that the report exposes the urgent need to modernise the NHS. He added that there had to be culture created where bad practice is challenged and said that the government's proposals would give staff more time to focus on patient care.

If one on your family has been for care incorrectly then contact us to see if they may be able reclaim their care home fees.

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