§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health from which organisations representing old people she has received representations alleging age discrimination within the NHS.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Department has received representations from the following organisations:
- Age Concern (England);
- Association of Retired Persons;
- British Geriatrics Society;
- Pensioners' Liaison Forum, North West;
- Pensioners' Action Committee, Tameside;
- Age Concern Leicestershire;
- Age Concern Coventry;
529 - Northern Pensioners' Association, Crewe and District Branch;
- Bury Pensioners' Association;
- National Federation of Post Office and BT Pensioners;
- The Methodist Church, Brentwood.
- Those representations have not identified individual instances of discrimination.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that age discrimination is eliminated from the NHS.
§ Dr. MawhinneyWe have consistently made it clear that there are no exceptions within the health service to the fundamental principle of equal treatment on the basis of clinical need. The patients charter reaffirms this right. Decisions about individual patient care are for the clinicians responsible for the case, but the patient's ability to benefit must always be the primary consideration.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individual complaints she has received to date from(a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) nationally about age discrimination in the NHS.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Department has received approximately 400 letters since April, many of them identical, expressing concern about alleged discrimination. We are not aware of any identified instances relating to services in Coventry or the west midlands.