The government responded to a report by a joint committee of MPs and peers on the human rights of older people in healthcare. It said that it was considering whether there was a case for prohibiting age discrimination in the provision of goods and services.
Source: Government Response to the Committee's Eighteenth Report of Session 2006-07: The Human Rights of Older People in Healthcare, First Report (Session 2007-08), HL 5 and HC 72, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Date: 2007-Nov
A report provided interim findings from a Department of Health programme designed to promote a sustainable shift in resources and culture away from institutionalized and hospital-based crisis care towards earlier and better targeted interventions for older people within community settings. There were early indications that the pilot sites were having a significant effect on reducing hospital emergency bed-day use when compared with non-pilot sites.
Source: National Evaluation of Partnerships for Older People Projects, Interim Report of Progress, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Oct
The healthcare inspectorate said that only a minority of hospital trusts inspected were found to have fully complied with all standards relating to dignity, privacy, and nutrition in the care of elderly people.
Source: Caring for Dignity: A national report on dignity in care for older people while in hospital, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release | Age Concern press release | Help the Aged press release | NHS Confederation press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Sep
The health services ombudsman said that she had uncovered recurrent 'deficiencies' in the treatment of older people by the National Health Service.
Source: Annual Report 2006-07: Putting principles into practice, HC 838, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | PHSO press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
An article said that although some initiatives did promote quality of life for older people living in rural England, significant limitations remained. The overarching policy response was incoherent and fragmented. Key deficits related to resource allocation, limited recognition of rural disadvantage, and minimal incorporation of the perspectives of rural elders.
Source: Alisoun Milne, Eleni Hatzidimitriadou and Janet Wiseman, 'Health and quality of life among older people in rural England: exploring the impact and efficacy of policy', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 36 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jul
A review report in Northern Ireland sought to provide a vision of what health and social care services should look like for older people with dementia and functional mental illnesses; and how these services should work together to ensure that users and carers had their needs met, irrespective of where they were in the system, without encountering discrimination or barriers to access.
Source: Living Fuller Lives, Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) (mentalhealth.reviewteam@dhsspsni.gov.uk)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jun
An article said that the health divide between the most affluent and the worst-off in society increased in later life.
Source: Tarani Chandola, Jane Ferrie, Amanda Sacker and Michael Marmot, 'Social inequalities in self reported health in early old age: follow-up of prospective cohort study', British Medical Journal (online first), 27 April 2007
Links: Abstract | BMJ press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Apr
A report presented the findings of a review of self-assessment in health and social care needs by older people. 'Self-assessment' was widely advocated, but not clearly defined or understood. In terms of cost, self-assessment was likely to be cost-neutral. Self-assessment was not necessarily more user-centred than other approaches.
Source: Peter Griffiths, Roz Ullman and Ruth Harris, Self Assessment of Health and Social Care Needs by Older People: A multi-method systematic review of practices, accuracy, effectiveness and experience, National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R & D/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (020 7612 7980)
Date: 2007-Mar
An article examined whether, and how, individual family doctors were influenced by a patient's age. Age was found to directly influence decision-making about angina investigation and treatment by half of the doctors in primary and secondary care samples.
Source: Clare Harries, Damien Forrest, Nigel Harvey, Alastair McClelland and Ann Bowling, 'Which doctors are influenced by a patient's age? A multi-method study of angina treatment in general practice, cardiology and gerontology', Quality and Safety in Health Care, Volume 16 Number 1
Links: Abstract | Age Concern press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Feb
