Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for "a totally different approach to patient safety" after a 100-year-old great-grandmother died from dehydration at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Lydia Spilner, of Tilton on the Hill, died in February last year following a "catastrophic error" in her care at the hospital.
Mr Hunt told ITV News: "I think that story is absolutely devastating and I personally never cease to be horrified. As Health Secretary I read stories every day because I see the letters that come in when things have gone wrong in the NHS and we have to have a totally different approach to patient safety."
The Mercury reported yesterday that Mrs Spilner suffered as a result of a catalogue of failures during a four-week period at the infirmary, 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.
