Old left high and dry

I am 69 and, as many of you know, have had six months or so of superb treatments and operations with the NHS. I cannot praise the NHS here enough, at every level.

There is an awful lot written about how pensioners have been protected from the ravages of the last few years economic problems, and state pensions, with their bells and whistles have.

But older people who are ill, disabled and vulnerable have suffered very badly from the cuts in social care and those who are dependent on Social Services for their residential care fees have particularly suffered as SS have held down the rate they are prepared to pay and put vulnerable people in homes prepared to accept these people but in conditions and with care that most of us would consider completely unacceptable.

That's a very interesting post Gagagran. The fact that it is the availability of all the modern drugs and treatments, and the huge cost of them, that makes the NHS so expensive to run.

I think there is a lot of scaremongering too, but doctors do make decisions. An 85-year old family friend has just had a successful triple heart bypass just before Christmas. But I also know of a diabetic friend who refused to controller her condition, lost a leg, ended up on dialysis and was not put on the kidney transplant list. She died aged 42.

Doctors sometimes do have difficult decisions to make.

I think there is a certain amount of scare-mongering going on in the press and by some politicians about this. My DSiL is a consultant in an NHS hospital and he says that there is certainly no formal or informal policy to treat any age group less favourably than any other.

It is sometimes a clinical judgement that an older patient would not cope with a particular treatment or operation and perhaps that needs to be explained more clearly.

The fact is that there are huge and increasing demands on an NHS that was never designed to cope with all the modern drugs and treatments that have developed over the years. We are still very lucky to have such dedicated, professional and able medics to treat us. They will never be able to satisfy everyone, especially the "I want it now" generation.

My mums healthcare has been fine too I think. She hasnt needed much. I do wonder if her couple of minor operations would have been done quicker if she was years younger, but I dont think so?

I'm 68 and over the past three years have had easy access to the best health care treatment available all on the NHS - my treatment could not have been better had I been half my age.

Very true. If you are over 65 it seems healthcare starts to be rationed.

My mum has complained for years that the powers that be look at your age first and then decide if they will attempt to help esp in the NHS.

And can only get worse as cuts to Social Care continue. Surely this must have been blinking obvious when the cutbacks started!