When neighbourliness can save lives

HOW can the body of a frail, elderly woman lie forsaken in her tenement flat, in heart of the capital of Scotland, for perhaps as long as five years without anyone noticing? Or, indeed, without a soul bothering to discover what had happened to her? But, incredibly, the remains of Isabella Purves, who would have been 90 this year, have been discovered at her home in Rodney Street after a water leak led to the police breaking down her door. Ms Purves appears to have died of natural causes.

The real cause for concern lies with the ailing state of modern society
that could let such a thing happen.

Ms Purves is not an isolated case. Last October, police in Stirling discovered the body of Patricia Ross, who was in her eighties. She ha...