They've Had a Good Innings: Can the NHS Cope with an Ageing Population?

We all fear the prospect of becoming ill and dependent in old age and it is reassuring to feel that we can count on the National Health Service. But as more and more doctors speak out about gaps in NHS cover, can we be sure it will be there when we need it? Not only are there good reasons for worrying about the ability of the NHS to cope, there is now strong evidence of deliberate discrimination against the elderly. At the very time we need care most, it may be withheld because a doctor takes the view that we have 'had a good innings'. In this book, a panel of internationally recognized practitioners and opinion leaders ask what implications the aging of the population has for the NHS.

How will the costs be met, within the framework of an already cash-strapped health service, funded from taxation, when increasing numbers of elderly people expect to benefit from advances in medical technology, and new and expensive drug treatments? There are solutions to these questions which will enable older people to receive treatment based on their medical needs, not their ages, but they involve a rethinking of the way in which healthcare is paid for and delivered in Britain.