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 Royal College of
Psychiatrists says.
A new
report, launched at the House of Commons today, exposes the
ways in which older people are missing out on vital support and
risking serious deterioration in their mental health.
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.
Today, the Royal College of Psychiatrists
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.
Dr Dave Anderson, chair of the College’s
Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry, said: “If we are to meet the
pressing challenge of an ageing population we must remove the
barrier that is age discrimination. There is no justifiable reason
why an older person with the same need as a younger person is
denied equitable mental health care, yet that is the current
position.”
But Dr Anderson warned: “If services are to be
provided on the basis of need not age, we must guarantee that the
different needs of older people are understood and addressed by
services specially designed to meet that need. If this doesn’t
happen, age discrimination will continue in another guise. Equality
is not achieved by treating all people in the same way but by
respecting their differences. We believe this policy statement
provides positive action and a responsible solution to this very
important problem.”
Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Julia Neuberger
has lent her support to the College’s report. Baroness Neuberger,
said: “When I was writing my new book, Not Dead Yet: A
Manifesto for Old Age, I was shocked and appalled by the
arbitrary age cuts-offs for treating older people in mental health
services. This led to many cases of severe depression being left
untreated, and involved many sad and distressing personal
stories.
“This is a national, regional, and local
problem that is not only for politicians and NHS management to
address, but also for local clinicians to tackle. The call for a
new way of configuring services is a bold statement from the Royal
College of Psychiatrists in this revealing report.”
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
Note to editors:
The report, Age Discrimination in mental health services: making equality a reality, is available at
www.fairdeal4mentalhealth.co.uk.
The report is supported by an accompany evidence document,
The need to tackle age discrimination in mental health.