§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into(a) refusal and (b) delay of treatment for patients aged over 50 years in the NHS on grounds of their age; and if he will make a statement. [81658]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department has not commissioned any formal research into age discrimination in the provision of health services.
The fundamental principle of the National Health Service is to provide services for everybody on the basis of clinical need. We are putting in place a number of measures which should improve fair access to services, including national service frameworks, the Commission for Health Improvement, local clinical governance, and a new performance assessment framework.
We are taking a number of steps specifically to improve the health of older people. For example, this year, for the first time, all people over 75 have been targeted for influenza vaccination. We are also in the process of developing the national service framework (NSF) for the care of older people. It is anticipated that emerging findings will be published in the autumn, and that the NSF will be published in April 2000. The NSF will enable us to drive up the quality of and reduce variations in the care older people receive from the NHS and its partners.