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'Lack of basic care' in English health system

15/08/2008

The NHS and private healthcare organisations are failing to provide a basic level of care to a large proposition of English residents, it has been claimed.

A study published on the website of the British Medical Journal says only two-thirds of the care recommended for older adults is actually received.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia involved 8,688 people aged 50 and over in their study and looked at 13 different health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, depression and osteoarthritis.

The research team studied whether effective healthcare interventions were received by people aged 50 and over with serious health conditions.

Results gathered through questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and quality of care indicators showed huge variations by health condition in whether or not people with particular health conditions received the appropriate intervention or care they should.

Eight out of ten people being treated for ischaemic heart disease were given appropriate care, compared to 29 per cent of osteoarthritis sufferers.

More care provided for general medical conditions than geriatric conditions, while conditions associated with disability and frailty had the largest shortfalls in terms of the care that people were not receiving but should have been.

"Initiatives to improve quality for nearly all conditions are needed but the greatest scope for improvement is in chronic conditions that affect the quality of life of older people," the researchers write.