You might have heard or read reports in the media recently about the appalling case of Lydia Spilner, a 100 year-old woman who died at Leicester Royal Infirmary as a result of dehydration.
On 5th June I spoke to BBC East Midlands Today about poor standards of care for elderly people in hospitals. It is unacceptable for any older person not to get the quality of care they need and deserve, or to be treated without dignity and respect. Tackling this problem means having enough staff on wards, who are properly trained, with clear lines of responsibility and accountability from the bedside to the Boardroom.
We also need to change the way services work to help prevent older people from ending up in hospitals in the first place if they don’t need to be there. I want to see a genuinely integrated NHS and social care system which helps older people stay healthy and living independently in their own homes for as long as possible. You can read more about Labour’s plans for ‘whole person’ care here.
