Tom, for once I can remark on this with first hand experience. My Nana passed away under very similar circumstances a couple of years back. It was around Christmas time, and we were meant to have dinner with her Christmas day. However, she was feeling unwell (a bit of flu, etc), and didn't want to come over, or so she reported in the morning when we rang her up. Boxing Day, we rang her to find out how she was, and we couldnt get hold of her. We just assumed that she'd gone out to friends or similar, and didnt think anything about it. Next day, same thing. This wasn't unusual behaviour for her, by any stretch of the imagination. Except for towards the evening, when we got a phone call from Nana's sister - "Have you heard anything from her? We haven't." This started the alarm bells ringing, so me and my sister (I would have been 17, she was 20) drove over there - probably about a 50 minute drive. We got there, no lights were on, and no answer to the door bell. We had a set of keys, but the doors all had security chains on them. We rang 999, and the police controller advised us to break in, and that there was a Patrol car on it's way. We did so, using a maglite and the window next to the security chain. All to find Nana lying dead on the tiled floor in her hallway. Both me and Liz are medically qualified, and it was clear to us she was beyond help. To this day, it still haunts us that we didnt get there sooner. She must have been lying on that floor in very little clothing, hearing the phone ringing but unable to get to it. She too had had a stroke, and she did die cold and alone. So I'm glad that for the sake of your patient, help did arrive before the end. Regards Nick http://nickhough.blogspot.com