- Those refused operations, test and scans can claim compensation from October
- Care Services Minister says elderly are sometimes treated badly due to 'ageist attitudes'
- Patients or relatives can file legal action if treated without dignity
By Sophie Borland
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Denying treatment to Health Service patients because they are too old is to be outlawed.
From October, the elderly will be given the right to sue if they have faced age-discrimination by NHS staff.
Those refused operations, tests and scans routinely offered to younger patients will be able to take legal action against individual members of staff or trusts, ministers will announce today.
New rules: Older patients will be able to demand compensation if they have been treated without dignity on hospital wards
Patients â€" or their relatives â€" will also be able to go to court and claim compensation if they have been treated without dignity on hospital wards.
The measure comes amid mounting evidence that the elderly are routinely being refused treatments for cancer, heart problems and strokes because of their age.
Doctors have admitted that they often make judgments that are based on a patient’s date of birth before even seeing them.
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said the elderly do not always get the treatment they deserve because of 'ageist attitudes'
And a spate of damning reports have revealed how the elderly are routinely left hungry, dehydrated and in soiled clothing on NHS wards as they struggle to make themselves heard.
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow will say today: ‘We know that older people are not always treated with the dignity and respect they deserve because of ageist attitudes. This will not be tolerated. There is no place for age discrimination in the NHS or social care.
‘Our population is ageing as more of us live longer. The challenge for the NHS is to look beyond a person’s date of birth and meet the needs of older people as individuals.
‘I have heard numerous stories from people who feel they have been discriminated against.’
The Government has made an amendment to the Equalities Act that will make it illegal for NHS staff to assume patients are too old for care.
There will, however, be cases where elderly patients are just too frail for certain high-risk operations or treatments such as chemotherapy.
But under the new law, doctors and other NHS staff will have to carry out proper consultations and take into account the patient’s fitness and health before making a judgement.
Mr Burstow said he knew of a woman of 84 whose doctor had refused her surgery to repair a leaky valve in her heart.
He said: ‘She asked if she could have this fixed and the doctors said “What are you bothered about , at your age?â€.
'This is exactly the kind of discrimination we want to rule out.’ He said the woman was finally getting the treatment she needed.
The Mail has long called for an improvement in the care of patients in old-age as part of our Dignity for the Elderly campaign.
Last night Michelle Mitchell, director of Age UK, said: Discrimination based on your date of birth is as indefensible in 21st century Britain as prejudice on the basis of race, gender, disability or sexual orientation.
‘We hope the new law which will apply to the NHS, social care and other services will prevent older people being denied proper treatment because of their age. It sends a clear message to service providers that discrimination law will in future also protect older people.’
The amendment was first put forward by Labour by the then Health Secretary Andy Burnham.
The age discrimination cases will be heard by county courts and if a judge rules in a patient’s favour they may be entitled to hefty compensation payouts.
IVF treatment will be exempt from the new rules because it is not as effective for older patients.
Critics will claim that the proposals could become a ‘lawyer’s charter’ as firms seek to exploit a lucrative new market.
However, last year a report by the National Cancer Intelligence Network found that women with breast cancer in their seventies and eighties were far less likely to be offered surgery than those in their fifties.
Experts said doctors often just looked at patients’ dates of birth in their notes and drew up treatment plans without even seeing them.
And NICE, the NHS watchdog, has warned that the elderly with hip fractures are often regarded as ‘low priority’ by staff. La st June the organisation claimed the operations were frequently carried out by junior doctors rather than senior consultants.
There is also particular concern about the care for elderly patients with dementia. Experts warn that thousands are never given a proper diagnosis because doctors simply view it as an inevitable sign of old age.
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A friend complained bitterly to me that his elderly mother was refused an operation for cancer. He said "they (doctors) didn't give her a chance." His mother's age was 102. We all pass on someday. The NHS should ensure the very elderly are well cared for and as far as possible pain free. I'm concerned that by making rights to operations and treatments law, we will fuel people's unrealistic expectations.
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"Also out of curiosity how does one define dignity? - lp, in here, 12/6/2012 8:38" Dignity is being afforded self-respect by others - whatever makes you feel comfortable doing. For instance, if you feel dignified when you soil your bedsheets because a nurse hasn't time to get you to a commode, then your definition of dignity probably differs from mine. I would find it embarrassing if I were unable to physically assist myself to get to the toilet and needed assistance that wasn't forthcoming so that I had to soil the bedclothes. I'd also find it an affront to my dignity not to be able to reach my food when it was put on the table at the end of the bed, and then taken away without my having so much as a mouthful. Imagine being so hungry, yet so unable to move to help yourself to that food. This is not treatment that helps the elderly and infirm. It strips away their dignity. And it really isn't always the fault of overstertched nurses. Some are lazy; the majority are not.
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If I would have been a doctor (thankfully i am not),I would not have bothered by this legislation as all hospital doctors have got NHS insurance and NHS will pay for all legal fees.Nothing will happen to doctors pocket.SO why bother?Silly !!
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We keep hearing this, but it is completely outside the experience of my husband and me. We're mid-70s and have had a lot of NHS treatment since we got together 15 years ago. Most recently, he has had very tricky spinal surgery - 4 weeks ago in fact! At no stage has the matter of his age ever surfaced, in any discussion or consultation with any doctor or surgeon at any stage. In a discussion with my young GP recently he opined that 'you're still only young'. I said 'I love you for saying that!' However, we both think that it's necessary to be articulate and assertive without being aggressive. If you think you need treatment you have to insist. It's no good accepting what you're told the first time as if you're grateful to be seen at all - pre-NHS.
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How can anyone deny that the NHS is in desperate need of major radical reforms (apart from anyone employed in the NHS, that is)?
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They can start by not segregating old people, and forcing them in geriatric wards. These wards are staffed by the same type of doctors and nurses that used to run the old mental hospitals. If old people were in mainstream wards, it would be more difficult for staff to ignore them, and not feed them.
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I hope that the medical (uncaring, unprofessional) profession is hit with massive amounts of claims when this comes into force. For far too long these 'carers', that only care about their wage cheque, have demeaned and humiliated at will. Now the shoe is on the other foot, treat the elderly with the respect they deserve or face the consequences. Come on all you 'No win, No fee' lawyers, start sharpening your pencils and get these jobsworth hacks out of what was once a proud profession.
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My mother died in hospital earlier this year because the hospital refused to operate on her - if she had been younger the operation would have been done routinely. The hospital told me that 'they did not want her in their intensive care ward'. I fought as hard as I could but it is currently impossible to force a hospital to treat an old person with the same care as they do a young one. I hope this new legislation saves lives - if only it had come last year my mum might still be here with me.
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This should not have to come to this in the first place!
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At Last! I've just changed my doctor because I had worked her out as a DOB doctor. She could tell my knee was arthritic (it wasn't) just by looking at it from a distance. My irregular heart was something "you just have to put up with as you get older" without listening to it or asking questions about my medication (thyroxine) I had reached the grand age of 70 and she wasn't interested. I changed doctors and am now very happy. How many other patients are suffering from her lack of diagnosis capabilities and total disinterest in older folk? Perhaps now some doctors will realise there is a life after 70 and a very happy one if you have a doctor who cares and helps you over the inevitable little problems.
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