Elderly cancer patients denied financial advice because nurses assume they are well-off
Elderly cancer patients are routinely denied information about the financial help they could receive because hospital staff believe pensioners do not need the support, a government report finds today.
7:00AM BST 17 Aug 2012
The over-75s are among the least satisfied groups of cancer patients with the standards of care and support from doctors and nurses, according to the Department of Health study.
Fewer than half of the age group reported being given information on their eligibility to benefits for the disabled and other types of financial assistance.
The NHS Cancer Patient Experience Survey found that standards of care had risen over the past two years, with more patients treated with respect and given choice over their care.
More than 70,000 cancer patients completed questionnaires for the report, including 15,000 aged over 75.
The report disclosed that 88 per cent of patients rated their care as “excellent” or “very good”.
However, levels of satisfaction were generally lower among the youngest age group, 16-25 year-olds, and those aged over 75. The report said younger patients were more likely to be given information about financial help or benefits they may be entitled to receive.
“Far more young people are being given information on these issues than are older people – perhaps because NHS staff believe that older people will automatically be in receipt of pensions and therefore do not need this kind of support,” the report said.
“However, many older people do not claim all that they could be way of pension credit, housing benefit etc, and it remains the case that many pensioners have very low incomes.”
The study suggested that about 47 per cent of over-75s received information from the NHS about how to get financial help, just over half the proportion of 16-25 year-olds who were told how to claim benefits.
Financial help that pensioners with cancer could be entitled to include pension credit, which tops up weekly income to total of up to £218 per week; a disability-related additional amount of pension credit worth up to £24 a week; attendance allowance of up to £77 a week; and council tax benefit.
