Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered an investigation into how a grandmother living in sheltered housing suffered injuries believed to be the result of multiple rat bites.
Pamela Hudson, a tenant of sheltered housing in York, was taken to hospital with injuries to her face, body and arms. Her family said a rat had "gnawed" at the bedridden 75-year-old, inflicting 50 bite wounds, reports The Guardian.
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Hunt says that Hudson was "stripped of her dignity and badly let down". He added: "Working across government, ministers are ordering an investigation which will be launched in the coming days.
"Whatever the sort of social care provider, patients have a right to expect the highest standards, and that is what we are determined to secure."
Hudson's daughter, Jan Derry, told The Sun she believes the rat became trapped in the bed and attacked her mother as it tried to escape. She said: "Her left elbow was ripped open by the rat's teeth, and there were dozens of teeth marks along her arm."
Explaining in graphic detail, she said: "When you looked at her arm there was no top level of skin in sections. It was not just a bite, it was as if it had been chewed off. As if you were eating a corn on the cob and you gnawed along it."
The family have criticised local authorities for failing to apologise for the incident.
Earlier this week, City of York Council said it had investigated the episode. Martin Farran, director of adult social care, said: "We have worked closely with, and provided support to, Mrs Hudson and her family throughout the investigation into this incident.
"It is with regret that, despite extensive efforts by professional experts, environmental health and independent inspectors, we have been unable to determine the exact circumstances of how Mrs Hudson's injuries occurred.
"Our thoughts are with Mrs Hudson's family, who are understandably distressed by what has happened."
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