Too Poor To Live

Age discrimination may be preventing older people from having access to vital surgery, a report suggests. The Royal College of Surgeons and Age UK looked at surgery rates for six common procedures for English over-65s. It found a wide variation in access to treatment depending on where people lived and a "worrying" difference between the over 65s and over 75s.  'People with breast cancer who were aged over 65 faced the biggest variation depending on where they live - with a 37-fold difference in the rate of breast tissue removal. In terms of the difference between age groups, there was a 34% drop in gall bladder operations and a 16.5% drop in breast tissue removal between the over 65s and over 75s. This came despite the fact the need for the treatment increases with age.' (BBC News, 3 July) Needless to say this discrimination does not apply to the elderly who can afford private treatment. Rd