Daily Mail (UK): "Doctors are prescribing drinking water for neglected elderly patients to stop them dying of thirst in hospital."

The Daily Mail is a widely read British tabloid (a bit like the NY Daily News, only racier).

So, is this a form of euthanasia, or just bad socialized medicine?

Elderly patients dying of thirst: Doctors forced to prescribe drinking water to keep the old alive, reveals devastating report on hospital care

The measure – to remind nurses of the most basic necessity – is revealed in a damning report on pensioner care in NHS wards.

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The snapshot study, triggered by a Mail campaign, found staff routinely ignored patients’ calls for help and forgot to check that they had had enough to eat and drink.

Dehydration contributes to the death of more than 800 hospital patients every year.

Another 300 die malnourished. The latest report – by the Care Quality Commission – found patients frequently complained they were spoken to in a ‘condescending and dismissive’ manner.