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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Age, renal replacement therapy and rationing | | Author(s) | Bill New, Nicholas Mays |
| Journal title | In: Health Care UK 1996/97; edited by Anthony Harrison, Bill New, 1997 |
| Publisher | King's Fund, London, 1997 |
| Pages | pp 205-223 |
| Source | King's Fund Publishing, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London W1M 0AN. |
| Keywords | Kidney diseases ; Surgery ; National Health Service ; Grant allocation. |
| Annotation | The authors summarise evidence presented in `Review of renal services: the report of the Health Care Strategy Unit', published by the Department of Health (DoH) in 1996. This confirmed that elderly people are less likely to receive renal replacement therapy (RRT) than younger groups, even though the incidence of end-stage renal failure rises with age. This paper examines the cases for and against age being used as a reason for using rationing, and establishing the 'need' for RRT. The authors question whether decisions not to treat older people are unethical as is often suggested, suggesting that unequal distribution of RRT services in favour of young people is justified. We have to consider whether increasing expenditure for more older people to be treated would be of overall benefit, and at what cost for those who might benefit from other forms of NHS care. |
| Accession Number | CPA-971120203 A |
| Classmark | COK: LKA: L4: QCG |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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