THE treatment of 82-year-old Jean Brierty, exposed in today’s Oxford Mail, is yet another disgraceful episode in the care of elderly and vulnerable people.

Mrs Brierty only went into a home for a short stay while building work was carried out to her house.

But she ended up in hospital with kidney failure due to dehydration.

This story will send a shudder down the spines of all those with relatives in care homes.

What makes this story worse is that Mrs Brierty’s family were kept in the dark about the investigation.

People have a right to expect the highest standards from care homes.

Families put their trust and faith in these organisations, and Oxfordshire County Council, to look after the people they love in their time of need.

And if the system fails, those families have a right to be told what went wrong, why it went wrong and what action has been taken.

There must be full public accountability if trust is to be restored.

This is set against a backdrop of staggering cuts to the county council’s adult social care budget, with no real comprehension of the impact they will have.

The care of older people in this country cannot be swept under the carpet any longer.

The Government must act, even if that means swallowing a bitter financial pill to save this ailing system.