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Greg Mulholland-Working Hard For Leeds North WestMulholland welcomes age discrimination ban in health & social care.
June 12, 2012 5:00 PM
Member of Parliament for Leeds North West Co-chair the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People and former Liberal Democrat Older People's Spokesperson, has welcomed today's announcement of the introduction of a law against age discrimination for all social care and NHS services. Greg campaigned on this issue including raising it on the floor of the House of Commons.
Earlier today Minister of State for Care Services, Paul Burstow MP, announced the new laws will mean every NHS and Social Care service will have to adhere to a ban on age discrimination without exception. The ban will mean that older patients, who feel they are receiving poor or undignified care due to their age, could take legal action.
The news means that:
- From October older people who feel a loss of respect and dignity due to their age will be better protected in law.
- Thanks to new laws hospitals and care homes will now have a legal duty to ensure elderly people are treated well, regardless of their age.
- People experiencing a poor standard of care or lack of dignity in care homes will also be able to take action.
- Where the public feel they have been treated badly because of age they will be able to take an organisation, or individual to court.
- Patients who feel fobbed off' by doctors, or told they should expect no more at their age - or that their symptoms are too often dismissed as 'general wear and tear' now have new laws to protect them.
Commenting, Greg said:
"There has been considerable concern and indeed evidence to show that the older people have been discriminated against, simply on the grounds of their age, as if they were less important because they were older.
"As we make dramatic improvements in our medical knowledge, we are living longer and healthier lives. It is important to make sure that when something does go wrong; people are not treated differently or subject to discrimination simply because of their date of birth.
"As co-chair for the Parliamentary group for Ageing and Older People, I have worked with Age UK to campaign for an end to age discrimination in the Health Service I am therefore delighted that with the introduction of these new laws to ensure that older people are being treated as individuals and with the level of care they deserve, based on need, not age."
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