Health 'shackles' good for patients: Letter

Thursday 17 October 1996 23:02 BST

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Sir: We certainly do not have a "decent society" ("Blair puts the family at the heart of moral crusade", 15 October) when older people are denied access to health care because they are over 75 ("Hospital puts ban on elderly patients", 15 October).

What sort of society do we have when some people are seen as less valuable than others? I have seen patients since this decision who have become more distressed, because it has confirmed their beliefs that they are in the way or that others think they are.

Should economists and business hold sway? Are people only valuable if they have economic worth?

CHRIS ALLEN

Consultant Clinical Psychologist

The John Hampden Unit

Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

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Health 'shackles' good for patients: Letter

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