London: Four patients are dying hungry and thirsty in hospital wards every day, shocking figures reveal.

Dehydration or malnutrition directly caused or was linked to 1,316 deaths in 2010 in NHS trusts and privately run hospitals.

The revelation follows a series of damning reports accusing staff of failing to address the most basic needs of the vulnerable, particularly the elderly.

Only this month David Cameron was forced to order nurses to carry out hourly spot checks of patients just to see whether they need help eating, drinking or going to the toilet.

Dehydrated

And in some hospitals doctors have been forced to prescribe patients with drinking water or put them on drips to make sure they do not become severely dehydrated. Figures obtained by the Daily Mail from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2010, the most recent data, 155 patients died in hospital from dehydration while a further 48 died from malnutrition.

A further 812 patients died with dehydration and another 301 with malnutrition, although the conditions did not directly cause their death.

Officials who compiled the figures pointed out that not all deaths could be directly blamed on poor care. Some illnesses such as Alzheimer's or certain forms of cancer make it very difficult for patients to eat or drink. But campaigners said that no one in this day and age should be dying hungry or thirsty in hospital, regardless of the circumstances.

Systematic monitoring

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "These figures are a terrible indictment of our precious National Health Service.

"They represent avoidable deaths. These people needed our care when they were at their most vulnerable."

Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, said: "There must be systematic monitoring of malnutrition in older patients. From the hospital ward to the hospital board, everyone needs to take responsibility and help stop this scandal." The ONS provided figures for the number of deaths in both NHS and privately run hospitals where malnutrition and dehydration was reported as a "direct cause" or a "contributory factor".

— Daily Mail