The most basic requirement of care in an NHS hospital should be that every patient is properly fed and treated with dignity.

It is shameful that the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, where many elderly people from south Worcestershire are treated, has fallen short of such a standard.

Meals went cold at the bedside of sleeping patients, some had to eat with their fingers because there was no one to help them cut up their food, while others were left plates that were beyond their reach.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission have as a result expressed “major” concerns about nutrition at the hospital.

How can this be? How can an institution dedicated to caring for people fail them so badly?

We know hospitals are stuggling to cope with tight budgets and staffing difficulties. But providing this fundamental level of care cannot be beyond even the most challenged of organisations.

We trust systems have been put in place to ensure this scandalous treatment of some of our most vulnerable citizens is never repeated. It is important, meanwhile, to remember that reports like this, though shocking, are rare.

The vast majority of NHS staff and hospitals do a first-rate job and care deeply about patients’ wellbeing.