WORCESTERSHIRE Acute NHS Hospital Trust has apologised to 38 families for “appalling” failures of care after legal action revealed a patient starved to death.

A total of 35 cases were brought against Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and three against Worcestershire Royal Hospital after a report by health watchdog the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) in March 2011 concluded the trust broke the law in failing to meet “essential standards”.

The incidents, which all took place between 2002 and 2011, included an 84-year-old man starving to death at the Alexandra Hospital in June 2009. Others saw an elderly woman go unwashed for 11 weeks, a man who could not feed himself taunted by nurses, a man whose ribs were broken while hospital staff attempted to lift him, and a great-grandmother whose hip fracture went undetected.

Reacting on Twitter yesterday, Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest, wrote: “Appalled by stunning revelations about Worcestershire hospitals.

How could this have happened?

Where were our community’s representatives?’ “It’s important to remember that Worcestershire Hospital Trust has had a new chief executive and chairman since last year. But they need to explain how they are better.”

Councillor Fran Oborski, who sits on Worcestershire County Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee (HOSC) and is a member of Wyre Forest District Council mentioned the Save the Alex campaign in a tweet responding to Mr Garnier.

“Rather puts me off ‘saving’ the Alex! Why hasn’t HOSC heard all of this?”

The campaign is to keep accident and emergency and other services open at the Redditch hospital which are under threat due to budget cuts.

Emma Jones, a lawyer with Leigh Day & Co, who started the legal action 15 months ago, said: “The failings we uncovered were appalling. Vulnerable and elderly patients were left starving and thirsty, with drinks left out of reach, buzzers ignored and people not being taken to the toilet and instead left to sit in their own faeces by the very people meant to be caring for them.

“There have been financial settlements, but what the families have always wanted all along is an apology. Some have been waiting years.”

In a statement, the trust accepted some “care fell below the requisite standard” between 2002 and 2009 but added “significant” improvements had since been made.

However, it said the trust now has the sixth best standard hospital mortality index (SHMI) in the Midlands and East Strategic Health area based on 2012/13 figures and a CQC inspection in September 2011 confirmed the trust met every CQC standard.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Department for Health would be “keeping a careful eye” on the situation.