The Royal College of
Psychiatrists welcomes the Health Secretary’s announcement that age
discrimination in NHS and social care will be outlawed from
2012.
For many years, the College
has been seriously concerned to see the position of older people in
mental health care fall behind that of younger adults. Last week at
the House of Commons (13 October 2009), the College launched a new
position statement, Age
Discrimination in mental health services: making equality a
reality. This, and an accompanying
compendium of evidence, exposes the ways in which older people
are suffering serious discrimination in mental health services,
leaving them unable to access vital services and at risk of
deterioration in their mental health.
It is now crucial that these
important changes to the law translate into concrete action at
a local level and, come 2012, older people will have equal access
to vital mental health services such as psychological therapies,
24-hour crisis home treatment, and early diagnosis and
intervention.
For further information, please
contact:
Liz Leicester
or Deborah Hart in the Communications
Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
Note to editors:
Age Discrimination in mental health services: making equality a reality and The Need to tackle age discrimination in mental health: a compendium of evidence http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/campaigns/fairdeal/rcpsych.aspx
College's position on the Equality Bill http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/equalitybill.aspx