CELEBRITY chef Sophie Grigson has joined up with Buckinghamshire County Council in a bid to stop the elderly dying from dehydration.

The council and the NHS want to encourage hospital patients to drink more water through its Thirst4Life campaign.

Alarms were first raised in December 2004 when research carried out by Debbie Lawson, a sister at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, indicated that more than 30 per cent of elderly people attending A & E were there because of a dehydration related illness.

Speaking at a conference supporting the campaign, Ms Lawson said: "Facts and research are indisputable the elderly are dying from dehydration.

"We need to be made aware of symptoms of dehydration such as mental impairment, dry skin and distress and actively encourage fluid intake."

The campaign attempts to raise awareness of the problems presented by dehydration, particularly among the elderly.

Sophie, star of Channel 4's Grow Your Greens, Eat Your Greens, said: "I was very honoured to be asked to support the campaign. Everybody knows you have to drink lots of water but most people just don't think about it."

But campaigners are keen to stress that it is not only a glass of water that can increase fluid intake. Sophie explains: "Soups, for example, can be very exciting and can have great flavour."

Mike Colston, cabinet member for adult social care, is also backing the campaign. He said: "We see this as part of a broader policy of maintaining older people's lives in their own home.

"There is a tendency to think that older people will be safer in residential care but they live safer at home. The older generation relish independence and if encouraging them to drink water keeps them healthier and more independent, then it's something we actively support"

By Andrew Smith