91Èȱ¬

I woke up this morning to yet more shocking failures in care of the elderly in our country. I'm scared to say I'm almost immune to it now.

The latest Which? report catalogues a series of problems which to my ears are all too familiar.

You'll know that Inside Out over the past couple of years has been at this subject like a dog with a bone.

When we first uncovered serious and repeated lapses in the care of residents at Southern Cross homes we were deluged with complaints from others. They told us the lack of dignity and proper care afforded to their relatives was much more widespread than even we had reported.

In our last series we turned our attention to care of the elderly in one of our local hospitals and the same thing happened. As soon as our report hit the airwaves we received another rush of emails and letters raising yet more instances of poor care.

Now shows there are similar common problems in the care provided to those still living in their own homes. Meals and drinks placed out of reach, people ending up soiling themselves, rushed or inadequate care. The same issues are cropping up in this sector too.

If it's been happening in care homes, in hospitals and even in people's own homes, it can't just be down to a few rogue nursing staff or health visitors. There has got to be something seriously wrong in how we as a society view the elderly.

, although some of its recommendations bordered on blatant common sense.

We all have a vested interest in sorting this out. Those of us that make it to a ripe old age will be using these services. We will be the customers of the future so no wonder the Consumers' Association decided to investigate.

I recently received an email questioning whether our reporting of the problems in care of the elderly reflected the real scale of the problem. Today's Which? report would tend to suggest, if anything, we didn't cast our net wide enough.