NHS doctors are more likely to allow patients to die if they suffer from a mental disability, a damning Government-backed report suggests.
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.
As a result they can expect to die an average of 16 years earlier than those without a disability, it found. The gap rises to as much as 20 years among women.