Date: 11 November 2011

Lawyers at Ashton KCJ have noticed an increase in enquiries recently from family members concerned about the standard of care being given to elderly relatives.

Julie Crossley, a legal executive at Ashton KCJ, explains: “The subject was brought to the fore last month when a damning report from the healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission, found that care of the elderly was so poor in one in five hospitals that the law was actually being broken. There has been further media coverage recently when two East Anglian Trusts were reported as providing unacceptable care.

Patients in 20 of the 100 hospitals inspected were being denied help in the basics in life such as eating, drinking, and going to the toilet and the hospitals were in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. 

There are increased concerns about pressure sores and the failure to avoid and treat these, a source of extreme distress to the patients and their families”.

The most important issue is to ensure that the elderly and vulnerable are not let down and are treated with respect and dignity. However, in some cases, the easiest way to highlight problems and effect improvements in individual hospitals or care homes is to bring a legal claim. We have run many successful claims for people in these circumstances and would be happy to talk to anyone else who finds themselves in this unfortunate position.