David Ruffley MP, the Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform, has today welcomed a joint report by The Audit Commission, Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection which states elderly people are being neglected and poorly treated by our health system.

The report entitled 'Living well in later life' was published this week and assesses progress five years into a ten year Government plan to improve services for people over the age of 50.

While the report found some progress this was not evident across the country and improvement in some areas has been slow. At this half way stage, none of the communities inspected had reached the milestones the Government set to enable them to meet the standards in the national service framework.

Key findings of the report include:

• Evidence of a lack of priority being given to the needs of older people when planning and commissioning services. For example, local authorities were not considering the needs of older people in planning public transport.

• Evidence of a lack of dignity and respect in the way older people are treated when in hospital.

• A lack of consultation by service providers with older people to find out exactly what they want.

• Mental health services for older people were particularly poor. Older people reported a noticeable difference in their experiences of accessing services as they reached and passed 65.

David said:

'This report, published jointly by three public sector watchdogs, highlights the urgent need to ensure that our public services treat the elderly with the respect and dignity they deserve.

'The Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission, Anna Walker, quite rightly points out that older people are the biggest user of healthcare, occupying almost two thirds of our hospital beds. Therefore, we must ask the Government why they have not been made a priority in the planning and development of our NHS.

'I am particularly pleased that the report draws attention to the poor state of mental health care for the elderly. I have a huge number of very anxious constituents who fear they will be left with only minimal services after the Violet Hill day hospital in Stowmarket closes. The loss of this facility, together with the closure of the Old Fox House is major blow to the area and people with mental health issues.

'Another key area highlighted was the planning of public transport. Older people have not been involved in the design of services and, as a consequence, these services are not tailored to their needs.

'The NHS, social care organisations and our local authorities in Suffolk need to work better and work together on behalf of our County's older people. I will continue to press for better public services for our elderly population and will be urging the Government most strongly to take on board this report's observations.'