MORE than 1,000 care home residents have died of thirst over the past decade
More than 1,000 care home residents have died of
thirst over the past decade [PIC POSED BY MODEL/GETTY]
Being left without water and
becoming severely dehydrated was linked to 1,158 deaths of elderly and
vulnerable patients between 2003 and 2012.
Dr Alison Cook, from the
Alzheimer’s Society, said: “How can we call ourselves civilised when people are
left to starve or die of thirst? It is an utter disgrace that they are ever left
without the most basic care.”
Some 318 care home residents died
from starvation or when severely malnourished over the same period, and 2,815
deaths were related to bed sores.
The shock figures about the poor
treatment of care home residents in England and Wales were released under
Freedom of Information laws from the Office for National Statistics.
The real figures are expected to be
far higher because residents who died while in hospital were not included.
Dot Gibson, General secretary of
the National Pensioners Convention, called for an urgent overhaul in social
care.
She said: “It is not good enough
for ministers or the care regulator to talk about making improvements by 2015
when, in the meantime, older people are dying from neglect.
“The public would be outraged if
animals were treated in the same way – we need to show the same compassion when
it comes to caring for our elderly loved ones.”
Last year the Care Quality
Commission issued 818 warning notices to adult social care services in England –
around two thirds more than the preceding year.
Norman Lamb, the care and support
minister, said the deaths from thirst and starvation were “entirely
unacceptable”.
