BGS responds to assertions in Telegraph article

The BGS is aware of claims in the Telegraph today, Saturday 31 July, that plans were drawn up before the COVID-19 pandemic to deny hospital treatment to older people living in care homes, in the event of a pandemic or other health emergency. We know that older people in general and those in care homes specifically, were overlooked by Government, particularly in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, and it is particularly concerning to hear that this may have been long-standing Government policy.

Dr Jennifer Burns, President of the British Geriatrics Society, said:

We are incredibly concerned to hear of plans to deny care to older people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed ageism within society and we are dismayed that this attitude appears to exist at the highest levels. Access to treatment should always be decided on clinical grounds and not on age – older people have a right to receive the treatment that is most likely to be beneficial to them. BGS will always stand against any proposals to routinely exclude older people from receiving treatment."