Read the whole article, please....
Simon Wessely, the head of the department of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, who is also a practising clinician, put it like this: “It is hard to think of a single policy that will do more to extend the health gap between rich and poor than Hunt’s latest plans. GP practices are going to be rated on a scale of one to four. Guess who won’t be seen by the top-scoring practices: those who can’t travel very far, because of a medical condition or because they don’t have transport; those ill-informed about how to play the system; those mentally troubled, or with learning difficulties or dementia. Guess who will be seen: the affluent, information-rich and mobile.”
The recent increase in deaths among the elderly in England has been so great that, by winter 2013, the ONS announced an overall decline in life expectancy over age 65 as measured against previous expectations. TheGuardian reported this as a drop of 2 per cent in post-retirement UK life expectancy compared with the 2010-2011 projections, and raised the idea that this coincides very closely with the roll-out of the incoming 2010 Conservative-led coalition government’s unprecedented programme of cuts to local authorities as well as cuts to numerous social support schemes, housing and welfare payment.....
By November 2013 the NHS was giving out this advice to the elderly on the internet:
If you are 65 or over, it is important to spend most of your time in a warm environment during the winter months. There are a number of things you can do to cope in cold weather. Keep your main living room at around 18-21°C (65-70°F) and the rest of the house at least 16°C
(61°F). If you can’t heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep. Make sure you are receiving any benefits you are entitled to, such as the winter fuel payment and cold weather payment. Regular hot drinks and eating at least one hot meal a day will help keep energy levels up during winter and keep your body warm. Finally, make sure you get the seasonal flu jab.
