11 February 2000
In a Parliamentary debate on February 9, MPs urged the government to make sure older patients are not denied the best treatments.
The move was backed by charity Age Concern, which is putting pressure on the government to carry through its pledge made in opposition to launch an inquiry.
Age Concern director Sally Greengross said: 'The government keeps assuring us that these issues will be tackled once the National Service Framework is finally published, but the framework will not be able to measure and challenge the extent of age discrimination in the NHS.'
The British Medical Association has backed the charity's demands, but stressed that doctors were often juggling limited resources.
Chairman Dr Ian Bogle said that for some treatments, such as organ transplants, calculations had to be made on the basis of the number of years of life the operation was likely to give.
PFfeb2000
