Who would entrust their frail parents to the National Health Service, when there is a possibility that they could be come malnourished or even starve to death. What is scandalous is that these deaths are not treated as a scandal by the government or the Opposition. Only those families, those sons or daughters who actually have to deal with these problems, understand the current outcome.
Ivan Lewis, the health minister, conceded that some elderly people were given a single scoop of mashed potato or served meals with plastic cutlery "best suited to picnics".
His remarks, made to a local Birmingham newspaper, went on to admit that a single scoop of mashed potato "masquerades as lunch every day".
"Plastic cutlery has its place at a summer picnic but not for everyday use. Yet some older people are still being served their dinners with plastic cutlery, even though they have suffered a paralysing stroke which makes it pretty impossible for them to eat properly.
"Some have a tray placed on the end of the bed, tantalising with hot food. It may be just an inch out of reach but it might as well be a mile. To a bed-ridden pensioner, it must seem like torture.
"We wouldn't put up with this happening to our children, so why should we find it acceptable for our older people."
This is not acceptable. However, it is an inevitable outcome of a system of rationing that masquerades as health. Those who are least able to demand the services they require due to frailty, age or dementia are overlooked by staff who have no incentive or inclination to care for them.
Piano teacher, Andrew Martyn, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, told The Daily Telegraph that his family went to hospital twice a day to feed his elderly father because there were not enough members of staff to do it.
His mother explained: "A doctor said my husband didn't have long to live. Maybe a week. Staff didn't have time to feed him because he took a long time to feed. We were told that if he gets fed, he could live a little bit longer.
The National Health Service is based upon limited resources and uses a system of triage in practice. Naturally, those who are considered to have limited value are deprived of resources, removing their dignity and perhaps condemning them to a painful death. The greatest criticism of the National Health Service is the way in which it harnesses, subverts and eventually destroys moral virtues such as compassion and kindness.