A number of older people have taken the opportunity to express their experiences of being in hospital at a special event organised by Age Concern on Friday.

The event allowed elderly people to put their concerns to NHS chief executives and nursing staff in the hope of addressing problems with hospital care.

Age Concern reports the views of one such patient, Maria Nash, who was told that due to budgetary cuts her hospital would be unable to provide food that met with the requirements of her specialist diet.

"The hospital told me my dietary requirements would be catered for but when lunchtime came I was left hungry and helpless," she remarked.

"NHS boards need to meaningfully involve patients in developing strategies for providing food to every patient."

In response Mala Karasu, Matron for Elderly Care at St Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This experience has been so useful. This falls in line with what the trust is working on which is a good nutrition strategy for older people."

Age Concern has launched a Hungry to be Heard campaign intended to make hospital staff pay more heed to the concerns of elderly people.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph has reported that seven in ten councils in England have been forced to effect cut backs on services, including social care services, which a spokeperson for the charity said was having a "devastating impact on the elderly".