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Many more are left thirsty. Figures show that for ­every patient who dies of malnutrition about four more have dehydration mentioned on their death certificate.

Critics say food and drink are often placed out of reach of vulnerable patients and taken away untouched because nurses are too busy to help them eat.

Charities last night demanded urgent action to cut the shocking death toll.

Dianne Jeffrey, chairwoman of the Malnutrition Task Force, said: “Too many are paying the price with their lives while being deprived of the basic right to good nutrition, hydration and support.”



Dr Tim Bowling, of charity BAPEN, which raises awareness of malnutrition, said the figures from the Office for National Statistics were an underestimate.



In 2011 as many as 291 patients died in a state of severe malnutrition and 43 starved to death. In the same period the number of patients discharged from hospital suffering from malnutrition doubled to 5,558, more than 100 a week.



Last July an inquest heard a cancer patient died of thirst in St George’s Hospital, Tooting, south London, despite begging staff for a drink. Kane Gorny, 22, was denied medication that controlled his fluid levels after a hip replacement.



He dialled 999 because he was so desperate but police were turned away by staff. The inquest was told that Mr Gorny was restrained by security guards and sedated. In a recent legal case, Worcestershire NHS Trust apologised to the families of 38 patients who suffered what lawyers described as “appalling levels of care” in hospital.