patchy

Mrs Harman said the support after diagnosis was "very limited and very patchy" which could lead to feeling "really lonely".

Many of the interviewees say that there is still the option of being connected to mobile data - but that this is far too expensive for most, and that connectivity is patchy.

"Support teams who have this specific experience is very patchy," she added.

Many say despite guidelines issued for more than a year, enforcement remains patchy.

The miscounting was attributed to patchy record-keeping and suspicions that some families may have tried to hide the deaths of elderly relatives in order to claim their pensions.