Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he is "disgusted and appalled" at accounts of patient neglect at a hospital in Worcestershire.
The Sunday Telegraph has reported that in the worst instance of mistreatment at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch a patient starved to death.
The newspaper says the health trust concerned is writing to 38 families and is to admit its failings in each case.
In a statement, the trust issued an apology over its "shortcomings".
The failings reportedly took place between 2002 and 2011, with 35 cases being brought against the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and three against the Worcester Royal.
The mistreatment was exposed after the families of patients took legal action, the Sunday Telegraph reports. It says Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust is to pay out a total of £410,000 in compensation.
End Quote Solicitor Emma JonesThe most shocking thing about these cases is the fact that they went on over so many years"
According to the newspaper, instances of mistreatment at the Alexandra Hospital include the case of an 84-year-old man admitted to the hospital in June 2009 after a fall, who was prescribed a special diet but was not fed properly and starved to death.
Among other allegations are claims that an elderly woman was left unwashed for 11 weeks and nurses taunted patients.
Mr Hunt said in a statement: "I am disgusted and appalled to read these accounts of what patients and their relatives went through.
"These are examples of the sort of 'care' that should simply not happen in the NHS and there is no excuse for them.
"We will be keeping a careful eye on this situation, and will take further action if necessary."
'Appalling failings'Emma Jones, a solicitor at Leigh Day & Co who represented the families, said: "The most shocking thing about these cases is the fact that they went on over so many years, despite repeated assurances given from the management of the hospital.
"Families who complained were told that changes would be made so others would not have to endure these kinds of failings, but in fact the problems were not tackled.
"The failings we uncovered were appalling: vulnerable patients were left starving and thirsty, with drinks left out of reach, buzzers ignored and people left to sit in their own waste by the very people meant to be caring for them.
"Although the issues went on for almost a decade, we are pleased that the current management seems to be taking the matter seriously and making changes, and righting wrongs."
Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust said in a statement: "Whilst the trust has accepted that certain aspects of the care afforded to some patients fell below the standard that they were entitled to expect, all of the cases cited are several years old, in many incidences, more than a decade old.
"A number of very serious allegations made by the families of deceased patients are not borne out by the medical records.
"Nevertheless, the trust accepts that the care afforded to some patients some years ago - between 2002 and 2009 - fell below the requisite standard and has apologised for the shortcomings."
It said that following an inspection by the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission in early 2011, "significant changes have been made to ensure patient care is excellent".
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