Woman dies in UK after caretakers stopped giving food or water for 28 days as son calls treatment ‘inhuman’  

Woman dies in UK after caretakers stopped giving food or water for 28 days as son calls treatment ‘inhuman’  

Woman dies in UK after caretakers stopped giving food or water for 28 days as son calls treatment ‘inhuman’   Image: KieferPix Shutterstock.com

An elderly woman died slowly due to ‘dehydration and malnutrition’ in the UK after caretakers stopped giving her food or water for 28 days 

An 88-year-old woman has died in the UK after suffering from ‘dehydration and malnutrition’ as her caretakers stopped giving her food and water for a period of 28 days, as claimed by her son.  

The woman named Sarene Taylor had been admitted to a hospital in North Wales shortly after she suffered from a stroke.  

But as per her son Rob Taylor, cited by Mail Online, “doctors said there was nothing more they could do and they started end-of-life care with fluids and food being withdrawn”.  

Devastated by what happened to his mother, Taylor has described the end-of-life approach as ‘inhumane’ and ‘heartbreaking’, stating that it needed to be changed.  

Taylor who is a well-respected and decorated former North Wales rural police officer said, “’I understand end-of-life care, and the carers and district nurses do a fantastic job but to deny a human being food and water is disgraceful and we as a society need to ensure that this doesn’t happen again”. 

Describing his mother’s death, Taylor stated that “’My mum 88 years of age had a fantastic life, but sadly four weeks ago today, she was admitted to a hospital in North Wales, with what we found out to be a stroke”.  

He said, “I obviously went up to be with her and spend time with her – on Monday which is three weeks gone – and this Monday the doctor told me that there was nothing more they could do for her sadly and all fluids and food were withdrawn and she was put on end of life care”.  

“I spent quite a lot of time with her – and then on leaving and waiting for the phone call, because I had to go somewhere else unfortunately, I then discovered I had caught Covid, so I couldn’t immediately go back – on Wednesday, just gone three weeks ago – I was told we had to take her from the hospital. So arranged for her to be taken back to the care home”, he said. 

“This is not a story about illegality or legality, it’s about ethics. My mum is still alive – 24 to 25 days in without any food, any water, no IV drip, nothing – she’s still alive – and it’s inhumane and absolutely harrowing to the family and inhumane”, he added.  

Speaking about the treatment he said that “This is how you would treat people back in the 11th and 12th Century – not 2023. It’s absolutely harrowing. There is nothing we can do, absolutely nothing we can do – and they have been wonderful, it’s just that it’s incredible that she’s probably suffering and it’s heartbreaking, it’s absolutely heartbreaking for us”.  

Meanwhile, Andrea Hughes, Director of Nursing for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s East Integrated Health Community also commented on the case and said the investigations are ongoing.  

“’While we cannot comment on individual cases in any detail, we were in daily contact with Mr Taylor about his mother’s care and we are investigating concerns that he has raised”.  

Hughes added, “’We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Taylor’s family for their very sad loss”.

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Written by

Imran Khan

A journalist, content professional, and former TEDx Speaker based in Tarragona (Spain), with a Master's in International Journalism (Cardiff, UK). Imran is an online reporter for The Euro Weekly News and covers international as well as Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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