THE CARING NHS

"Elderly people who suffer broken hips are forced to wait a dangerously long time for operations, according to leading surgeons. Delays in treatment means some older patients fail to regain full mobility, lose their independence and end up in in a nursing home, senior doctors claim. In extreme cases patients suffer an early death. A survey by the British Orthopaedic Association, which represents most of the UK's 2,000 surgeons who repair joints, reveals that senior citizens have to wait too long for the surgery they need to give them the best chance of recovery." (Observer, 21 December) RD