Many people working for the National Health Service (NHS), including doctors, have an ageist attitude towards elderly people, a charity says. The services provided by the NHS are not meeting the needs of the fastest growing age group population of people over the age of 85, according to Age Concern. Research by the British Medical Journal shows just 62 per cent of the care recommended for older adults is actually received. Gordon Lishman, Director General of Age Concern, said many NHS services are not tailored to meet the needs of our ageing society. “It is shocking eight out of ten older people with clinical depression do not get any treatment because of ageist attitudes held by many in the NHS,” he added. According to the charity, in 2006-07 there were an estimated 2.5 million older people who needed some form of care and support. The organisation says around 6,000 older people with high support needs receive no services or informal care.

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30 October 2008
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