Respect Party candidate George Galloway has taken the Bradford West parliamentary seat from Labour, winning the by-election by 10,100 votes.
Mr Galloway, expelled by Labour in 2003, said it was the "most sensational victory" in by-election history. He received 18,341 votes - a 56% share.
He said his victory represented a "total rejection" of the major parties.
At the 2010 General Election, Labour's Marsha Singh, who resigned on health grounds, won with a majority of 5,763 .
The party had held the West Yorkshire seat since 1974, except for a brief period in the 1980s when the sitting MP defected to the SDP.
Labour candidate Imran Hussein came second with 8,201 votes as the party's share of the vote was 20% down on its 2010 figure.
'Bradford spring'
Conservative candidate Jackie Whiteley was third, with 2,746 votes. Jeanette Sunderland, of the Liberal Democrats, secured 1,505 votes.
Mr Galloway, who co-founded the anti-war Respect Party after being expelled by Labour because of comments he made as part of his opposition to the Iraq war, said the result represented the "Bradford
The report calls for better
training in the treatment of elderly people
The elderly are being passed around
hospitals in England like parcels, often going without treatment because of
ageist attitudes, a report suggests.
The King's Fund review said treatable conditions such as incontinence and
depression were sometimes ignored. And even diseases like cancer and heart disease were not always tested for,
it suggested. A Department of Health spokesman said addressing problems with elderly care
was a key priority for the NHS. He added the reforms being introduced in the health service were designed to
free staff from the obstacles they were facing to putting patients first. The report - based on patient surveys and evidence from staff - is the latest
in a series of critical reports on elderly care. The Patients Association and Care Quality Commission have both recently
published studies detailing "shocking" standards. The problem has prompted the Royal College of Nursing to call for minimum
staffing levels for elderly care. 'Bed blocker'This study by the King's Fund criticised the whole approach to elderly care,
saying the attitudes and language used suggested staff - particularly doctors -
were ageist.
“Start Quote
The health and social care system system has failed to keep
pace with changing health needs”
End
QuoteJocelyn CornwellReport author
It highlighted the uses of phrases such as "bed blocker"
as well as the fact the elderly did not always receive the same assessments and
treatments as younger patients.
But the think tank also laid the blame on the system, pointing out the
volumes of work and pressure on meeting targets was compromising care. It said elderly patients, who make up two-thirds of admissions, often found
themselves on the wrong wards and passed around "like parcels" because of the
rush to admit them. The King's Fund called for better training for staff, leadership and
involvement of patients to ensure the co-ordination of care improved. Report author Jocelyn Cornwell said: "The health and social care system
system has failed to keep pace with changing health needs. "It needs a radical rethink from top to bottom." Michelle Mitchell, from Age UK, added: "Health services cannot deliver
high-quality services unless older people are treated as individuals and their
care is co-ordinated. "This is what a modern health service needs to deliver."
Which? found cases of missed visits, food left out of reach, medication not given and people being left in soiled beds during its investigation.It concluded too many faced a "constant battle" to just get the basic help.The UK Home Care Association said it was never acceptable for people to experience rushed or inadequate care.Which? said the findings - based on a survey and diaries kept by the elderly - showed the system needed reform.
More than 500,000 people rely on help at home with activities such as washing and dressing.
Funding squeeze
These include both people who get council-funded care and those who pay for it themselves.
While Which? said there were some examples of excellent care, it claimed too many were being poorly served.
The group asked 30 people to keep diaries over the course of a week detailing their experiences.One elderly lady was left alone in the dark for hours unable to find food or drink.
Another was left without a walking frame so she was unable to get to the bathroom and one man was not given vital medication for his diabetes.
The poll, of nearly 1,000 people, found one of the most common complaints was missed or rushed visits.
Nearly half of respondents said visits had been missed in the last six months with most not being warned in advance.
One daughter said: "They missed a day just after Christmas. I covered, but mum didn't contact me until early evening by which time she needed a lot of cleaning up.
"You wonder about the elderly with no relatives."
Which? said the situation was only likely to get worse as councils increasingly squeeze funding.
'Real crisis'
This report is just the latest in a series that has highlighted the struggle the elderly are facing.
At the end of last year the Equality and Human Rights Commission said standards were so bad they even breached human rights.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Our investigation found some disgraceful examples of care with elderly people given little time or respect.
"The government can no longer claim to be shocked as report after report highlights the pitiful state of care for older people."
And Michelle Mitchell, of Age UK, said the system was putting the "health and dignity of older people at risk".
The UK Home Care Association, which represents the agencies which provide many of the services, said its members were increasingly under pressure to cut the length of visits by councils wanting to save money.
Mike Padgham, the group's chairman, said: "The report supports our growing concern over state-funded homecare.
"People and their families must be confident that they will receive dignified and effective care.
"They must look to government and local councils to place the needs of elderly and disabled people at the forefront in the current economic climate, to avoid the concerning picture described in today's report."
Councillor David Rogers, of the Local Government Association, said: "This research highlights the very real crisis this country is facing in providing care for the elderly and vulnerable.
"We know there isn't enough money in the system and without fundamental reform the situation is only going to get worse and stories like this will sadly become increasingly common."
The government has promised to publish plans this year to overhaul the system in England. One of the aims of the forthcoming changes is to create a fairer and better-funded system.
The other parts of the UK are also looking at their systems.
Even in Scotland, where care is provided free, services are having to be rationed to only those who are the most in need because finances are stretched.
The care worker's story
"I've been in this profession for 10 years. This agency doesn't pay for travelling time so it's rush, rush, rush and the time I spend travelling is taken from each customer."
"Fifteen-minute visits used to be check calls or to give medication. Now they're used to microwave a meal, empty a commode and travel to the next person. It's impossible."
"A few carers are nice: they sing with mum, make her laugh and give good care. But mum's had some distressing hours. What can you do?
"Starting with a new firm and having mum get used to strangers again is too much. I'd like to have confidence that when care workers are there, mum is safe and well cared for."
Being compassionate should be as important as being clever when it comes to the recruitment of staff to care for the elderly, experts say.
The recommendation was one of a series made by the Commission on Improving Dignity in Care for Older People to improve standards in hospitals and care homes in England.
The group said too many vulnerable people were currently being "let down".
The review comes after a series of critical reports into elderly care.
Cases of neglect have been documented by the likes of the Health Service Ombudsman and Patients Association in the past year.
And so the commission was set up by Age UK, the NHS Confederation and the Local Government Association to set out a blueprint for how the NHS and social care sector should tackle the issue.
Patronising language
In total, the commission published 48 draft recommendations which will be consulted on over the next month before a final action plan is published in the summer.
The measures cover issues such as making dignity a priority at board level, encouraging staff at all levels to challenge bad practice and ensuring patronising language, such as "old dear", is not used.
The report said language which denigrates older people should be as unacceptable as racist or sexist terms.
Another key recommendation involved the role of ward sisters, which the report said should be given the authority by management to take action when standards slip.
But it is the issue of staff training which there will be most focus on. There have been suggestions in the past that nurse training has become too academic.
Some places have started to trial ways of testing the emotional intelligence and bedside manner of students.
The commission said it should become commonplace for universities and professional bodies to take into account compassionate values as much as they do qualifications.
One of the authors of the report, Sir Keith Pearson, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that dignity was "the essence of proper nursing".
He said: "There are pockets within the NHS and the care home sector where we are seeing excellent care. But you can go to hospitals...and you can see a couple of wards where dignity has broken down."
Sir Keith said there were clearly some nurses and professional carers who held old people "in contempt", adding: "Recruiting for values and then training for skills is enormously important."
He said people considering a career in nursing needed to be aware that 60% of patients in hospitals were over the age of 65 and they needed to be able to show compassion and kindness to elderly patients.
Sir Keith conceded that those nurses and carers who could not adapt to this "root and branch" change to the system would have to go.
But Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, suggested the most important factor when it came to standards was ensuring there were enough staff.
"It is absolutely critical that hospitals and care homes employ safe numbers of nurses with the correct skill mix. This is the key challenge that must be met."
Roswyn Hakesley-Brown, of the Patients Association, said the recommendations were a "step forward".
But she added without action on the ground it would be of no comfort to the people "who contact our helpline every day to tell us their loved ones are being left without adequate pain relief, are not being helped to eat and drink or who are left to lie in their own faeces because a nurse says she is too busy to help them to the toilet".
Care services minister Paul Burstow said the commission had made some good recommendations and he would be looking to work with the group to improve standards.
