New College report reveals that tens
of thousands of over-65s are at risk in mental health services
The Royal College of Psychiatrists have launched a new
report which exposes the ways in which older people are missing out
on vital support and risking serious deterioration in their mental
health.
Tens of thousands of people over the
age of 65 are being denied access to specialist mental health
services because of ‘arbitrary’ age limits, the report
says.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, supported
by leading health and social care organisations, calls on
mental health services to abolish the arbitrary age limit on adult
mental health services. The College believes all mental health
services should be available to people on the basis of need – not
age.
Age Discrimination in mental health
services: making equality a reality, and an accompanying
evidence document, The need to tackle age discrimination in
mental health give an overview of the current extent of
discrimination against older people in mental health services and
highlight areas of best practice.
Mental health services have traditionally been
configured by age. This means that if someone is 65 years old, they
can receive a wide range of support through adult mental health
services. But a person who is only one year older – regardless of
their need – may be placed in an older people’s service where this
same support is not available.
For example, if someone under the age of 65
has a mental health crisis, such as an attempted suicide, they can
have immediate assessment and treatment at home from a 24-hour
specialist team. But people over the age of 65 cannot.
Over-65s are also denied access to a range of
services available to younger adults, including psychological
therapies, early intervention, rehabilitation and addiction
services.
Read the new report Age Discrimination in mental
health services: making equality a reality
Read the accompanying evidence document
The need to tackle age discrimination in mental health
Read the press
release
This report has been endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing,
Royal College of General Practitioners, British Geriatric Society,
Age Concern and Help the Aged, and PSIGE.
October 2009