A 100-year-old woman died because of a "catastrophic error" in her care at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Great-grandmother Lydia Spilner suffered as a result of a catalogue of failures during a four-week period at the hospital, including not having enough fluids, which led to her death from dehydration.
The infirmary has admitted the faults and has paid Mrs Spilner's family an undisclosed, out-of-court settlement.
During the four weeks Mrs Spilner was a patient at the infirmary, her family found there were times she had been left without water and food, despite complaining she was hungry.
Her daughter, Nora Spilner, also found her in urine-soaked sheets.
On one occasion, the elderly patient had fallen from her chair and rolled underneath her bed and another time she had porridge caked in her hair.
Mrs Spilner, from Tilton on the Hill, was admitted to the hospital in January, 2012, with a suspected chest infection. During the next month, her family watched "fiercely independent" Mrs Spilner deteriorate.
Pleas from her daughter to put her on a drip were ignored for days.
Mrs Spilner, a Second World War refugee, died on February 22 last year from renal failure caused by dehydration.
Daughter Nora, also of Tilton on the Hill, said nurses responsible for her mother's care had failed to show "an ounce of compassion".
"What I find so hard to forgive is the way my mum's condition was allowed to deteriorate with very little thought given to her dignity," said Nora.
"She did not deserve to go like she did. The way she was looked after was appalling.
"It was heartbreaking to witness my mother slowly losing her dignity. She deserved better and I hope the nurses responsible are thoroughly ashamed."
In January, 2012, Mrs Spilner was taken to the accident and emergency department at the infirmary by her family, who were concerned about her speech becoming confused.
She was diagnosed with dehydration, put on a drip "and within two hours was back to her normal self," said Nora.
Mrs Spilner was then transferred to ward 31 at the infirmary, which is when the family's nightmare began.
Nora visited every day and became alarmed at her mother's deteriorating condition.
She said: "One afternoon, I noticed she had no water near her bed that she could drink.
"I requested a jug from the nurse but she said the jug was broken and they had no others available.
"My mum's skin was becoming dry and cracked and it was clear to me she was very dehydrated.
"I pleaded with the doctors to put her back on a drip but it took 10 days for them to take action."
Nora said her mother developed "horrific" mouth blisters due to antibiotic treatment but that she was never provided with any soft food or soup, even though she would complain that she was starving.
She said there were times when she found her mother in urine-soaked sheets and, when she asked why her mother had lumps of porridge caked in her hair one day, she was told her mother had fallen asleep in her breakfast.
Mrs Spilner died almost four weeks after being admitted to ward 31.
Robert Rose, partner at Lime Solicitors, which acted on behalf of Mrs Spilner's family, said: "Our medical evidence showed that the 10 days without sufficient fluids caused her to develop renal failure and brought forward her death. The trust has admitted there were clear failings in the care Lydia received."
Mrs Spilner fled her homeland of Latvia to escape the invading Russians during the Second World War.
She married in Germany and, after the war, made a new life in Britain with her husband.
They landed at a displaced persons' camp in Foxton before moving to work on a farm in Tilton on the Hill.
Nora said: "It was probably her tough upbringing that made her so fiercely independent in later years. Apart from using a walking stick to help her get around, she was in good shape for her age."
As well as her daughter, Mrs Spilner, who was widowed in 1970, had a son, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Sue Mason, divisional head of nursing at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: "It's clear our failure to give Mrs Spilner intravenous fluids was a catastrophic error, for which we have apologised.
"We know that saying sorry won't bring her back, but we at least want her family to know we will not avoid our responsibility. We are truly sorry.
"As regards the equally important issue of the compassion shown to Mrs Spilner: since this happened in 2012, we have changed the nurse leadership on this ward, increased staffing levels and introduced hourly ward rounds.
"Again, we realise these actions will not alter anything for the family, but we hope that it shows we take their experience seriously."
