The health inspectorate has reprimanded a nursing home in Sittard in Limburg for allowing a woman to starve herself to death over a period of 10 days amid confusion over her ability to make the decision herself.

Voluntarily stopping eating or drinking is a way of hastening death and the woman, who was 87 and had dementia, had at times expressed a wish to die.

However, the inspectorate said the home had failed to make sure the woman could make an autonomous decision to stop taking food without the influence of others, which is a legal requirement.

The incident was investigated following a report to the inspectorate by care home organisation Stichting Zuyderland Zorg last year.

The investigation found that there had been much discussion about the woman’s care but that much had remained unclear. “The caregivers involved expressed their mental struggles but this was not picked up on. Suppositions were made but went unchecked,” the inspectors said in their report.

The care home said in a reaction it deeply regrets the incident.

“In this unique case, in which the direct relatives of the client played an important role, our staff was put under enormous pressure and faced some serious dilemmas,” board member Roel Goffin said.

“We should have done more to make sure that our client could make the decision to stop eating and drinking herself, without being influenced by her relatives.”

No further measures will be taken by the inspectorate because the home has since started a programme to improve ways of working, and has developed tools for better communication with relatives in complex situations.