When the Telegraph & Argus launched its With Respect... campaign in July we highlighted the case of a pensioner who, her daughter said, had been ‘left to rot’ in a side room at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

The campaign is designed to throw the spotlight on to issues affecting the care of elderly people and to try to change attitudes towards our older generation, allowing them the dignity they deserve in their later years.

The report published by the Patients Association featured in the T&A today confirms that nationally at least there are still major issues with the treatment of the elderly and the vulnerable. It highlights 16 instances around the country where patients have received very poor care, bordering on neglect.

It must be stressed that that none of these cases are in the Bradford district and both the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust state that providing the highest quality of care for all their patients is a key priority. But what it does do is drive home the fact that there are issues that continue to cause problems when hospitals are caring for the elderly and most vulnerable members of our society.

The new Care campaign, launched by the association in partnership with Nursing Standard magazine as part of their report, provides a blueprint for guidelines for all NHS staff involved in patient care, stressing the importance of ensuring dignity and communicating with compassion.

It would send a strong signal of intent if health trusts, either as a whole or at local level, adopted this as part of their dignity policies.

Patients, particularly elderly patients, are often already frightened, confused and upset when they find themselves in hospitals. We owe it to them to ensure they at least maintain their respect and dignity when this happens.