Doctors put lower value on lives of the disabled, study finds
NHS doctors are more likely to allow patients to die if they suffer from a mental disability, a damning Government-backed report suggests.
Lives of disabled ‘valued less’ in NHS, claim
By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor

In some cases doctors may even be making orders not to resuscitate “because” patients have learning difficulties, the three-year study concludes.

In other cases, it found evidence of doctors making more “rapid” and “premature” life-and-death decisions in cases involving the disabled than other people.

People with special needs are also less likely to be diagnosed quickly with conditions such as cancer and “all aspects” of medical care were “significantly” worse for them than for the wider population, it concluded.