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 07 September 2008 03:49 BST

Middle classes 'dominate NHS'

Wednesday, 28 Nov 2007 16:17
Assertive middle class patients diverting NHS resources away from poorer patients
The NHS is being dominated by middle class patients who are more able to speak up when they are denied treatment, a report claims.

Right-leaning thinktank Civitas says that poorer people are more likely to be deprived of important procedures such as hip replacements and X-rays.

"Higher socioeconomic groups are more likely to have family or friends who work in the health services, and even if these contacts are not directly used to gain access to services they act as an important source of advice on how to work the system," the report states.

It claims that the health service "cannot continue as it is" and has become a "divisive influence" on society.

The report's author Nick Seddon writes that the claim the NHS' lack of quality is remedied by its equity is "no longer true".

"The government is faced with the dispiriting fact that not only have health inequalities not improved, but they have got worse," he said.

"Not only are lower socioeconomic groups less healthy, but the relative gap is growing – it is becoming increasingly clear that the NHS often does little to combat inequality, and may even make it worse, by providing an inequitable service."

In his study he cites research showing that patients in Wales wait on average 47 days for MRI scans, compared to a 100-day wait in the north-east.

Mr Seddon also criticises the "inequities" facing elderly people for specialist treatment and dental health and the quality of mental health care for black and ethnic minorities.

"So do not be poor, black, old and depressed in England right now, because you're very unlikely to get treated," he added.End of story


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