Older people being denied Human Rights in healthcare say Liberal Democrats

11.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 15th Aug 2007

Older people being denied Human Rights in healthcare say Liberal Democrats

According to parliament's joint committee on human rights, one in five care homes are failing to meet minimum standards of dignity for older people. The committee warned of "disturbing evidence" of maltreatment, neglect, abuse and unfair eviction of care home residents. Calling for a complete "culture change", the committee accused the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice for failing to give adequate leadership to care providers. In a report published today, it was also warned that current laws were failing to protect older people, with many patients and NHS staff unaware of their human rights.

Liberal Democrat MP Dr. Evan Harris said "Our inquiry uncovered a litany of failure to respect the rights of older people and give them equal treatment. The Human Rights Act must cover care homes and it is a scandal that seven years and several legal cases down the line the government's failure to legislate to make this clear has left vulnerable people in state-funded care at the mercy of commercial decisions. Age discrimination persists in hospitals and care homes. It is clear that the delayed discharge rules, imposed by the government against clinical, political and social services opposition, work against the interests of older people in hospitals and must be repealed."