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LOOK EAST reports on the involuntary euthanasia in the NHS

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Stroke patient Stan Bait is paralyzed he can't eat and drink without help Karen Brogan is a nutrition assistant Addenbrooke's Hospital the team here is only too aware that a patient's survival can partly depend on proper feeding one more mouthful for me and then worse than pudding they're trying to give me it first laughs I think it's essential that every hospital that's providing care for elderly patients particularly is mindful of the need for good nutrition and to make sure people are properly hydrated Addenbrooke's Hospital says patients are given food on demand 24 hours a day but this report explores what could be going wrong in hospitals elsewhere the healthcare professionals and relatives who believe patients are being neglected including being deprived of food and liquids a recent Lucky's report on care of the elderly attracted over 150 emails and phone calls the vast majority detailing allegations of neglect Lucas has talked to scores of bereaved relatives they said they were concerned about neglect they described patients being unable to reach their food and drink left nil by mouth for days left unattended from us heavily sedated left in cold rooms blankets removed nurse share inhibits worked with elderly patients in this region for twenty years this is my concern that that there overlooked and it's lack of resources and just who do we give the resources to and but certainly at the moment it seems that the elderly are not top of the list definitely not top of the list and the two three words you would used to describe the state of affairs as it is now pitiful and completely unacceptable for legal reasons we can't identify the following case at a hospital in this region the family of this elderly patients say they believe she was left to die she was starved to death that's what we felt she didn't die of these things that I stated we felt she was starved to death because she had no food shed no body weight in the patient's medical records staff noted she was hungry her family say she wasn't allowed to eat until she saw a dietician who they say never came to go without fluids can lead to death in days within six hours you'll get thirsty get a dry mouth headache and become confused you'll get muscle cramps and blood pressure will fall you will go into renal failure you'll get more confused you may have convulsions and you will eventually die in the coma it's a terrible death it's a terrible death here at the Health Care Commission there is acknowledgement that suffering is going on and there's talk of action the Health Care Commission says it recognizes the neglect of elderly patients is of great concern there is a very wide recognition that this is an issue in the NHS and as an organization I think what we can do is to make sure that we are inspecting these issues to make sure that we are drawing problems to the attention of trusts this death certificate is extremely rare it actually shows dehydration as a cause of death the patient had been in hospital for weeks dehydration indicates neglect but there was no post-mortem examination and no inquest now many relatives believe that some doctors are deliberately withholding food and fluids to bring about or hasten the deaths of patients many relatives have made the claims which have been raised in the House of Lords by Baroness Knight I was asked within the first 48 hours if I would be prepared to let my mum go I did ask what exactly this meant and he said well it was very simple fluids and no it would certainly be withdrawn gradually until she passed away and it's and it was made to sound like a very common thing to allow to happen she was shocked by the consultants attempts to end her mother's life she refused him permission my mum lived for five more years and she saw happiness she saw her grandchildren produced their offspring leading human rights lawyer Lord Carlile says had the consultant gone ahead he would have broken the law if a consultant deliberately reduces the level of treatment knowing that a death will result it is at the very least potentially manslaughter it could even be murder in law I have no doubt that there are some fairly clear cases that will not have been prosecuted for lack of inquiry that's not necessarily the blame the police by any means I think there is a tendency for those authorities that owned hospitals to try and avoid trouble and they prefer to deal with complaints of this sort by talking to the families and persuading them that nothing untoward has happened we have to be more rigorous in examining these cases the BBC is aware of a case police are currently investigating which involves allegations that an elderly patient suffered gross negligence including dehydration relatives MPs and peers are among those who are speaking out about the way many elderly patients are being treated sally should soy BBC Look East and if you have any worries or questions about the treatment of your elderly relatives the health care Commission has a helpline I'll give you the number a couple of times 0845 6013012 that's 08456013012