Landmark move to outlaw ageism

Elderly people should no longer be denied NHS treatment, credit cards, travel insurance or even car hire because of their age, under government plans to outlaw age discrimination.

The landmark move follows complaints of pensioners being patronised and fobbed off by doctors, or denied insurance or mortgages even if they are fit enough to work well into their retirement years.

One case handled by the charity Help the Aged involved an elderly woman with back pain who was told by her GP that it was to be expected at her age - only for her to be diagnosed with cancer of the spine. In another case, a 76-year-old heart patient was told she had had a 'long life' and asked if she really wanted to stay on the waiting list for a bypass