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Older people are the biggest users of the NHS‚ yet many are finding it difficult to navigate the complex maze of health services and charges – meaning they are missing out on care they are entitled to.

Our bestselling book - Your Rights to Healthcare‚ offers an easy route to answers about NHS services. The book decodes the complex NHS system and outlines all the healthcare services older people are entitled to‚ with no added frills or jargon.

Many older people say they feel left in the dark about their rights to basic NHS services‚ which can be very distressing at a time when they are more likely to be ill and at their most worried and vulnerable.  Your Rights to Healthcare‚ has useful chapters on mental health‚ cancer screening‚ chiropody and keeping healthy.  It also highlights significant changes to NHS dentistry‚ from finding a NHS dentist to dental charges.

Lorna Easterbrook‚ author of Your Rights to Healthcare – 2007 said:

“Unfortunately‚ there isn’t a ‘magna carta’ where older people’s entitlements to NHS care are set out.  If you are on the threshold of retirement‚ what better time to get up to speed on health care entitlements and be prepared for the future.”

Gordon Lishman‚ Director General of Age Concern England‚ explains: “Some older people are missing out on much needed healthcare treatment‚ because they are unsure of their rights. It’s shocking that nearly half of those aged 65 and over do not have access to dentistry on the NHS[1] which is bad news for their teeth. To get head to toe healthcare on the NHS people need to be one step ahead of the system so that they don’t miss out.”

Your Rights to Healthcare‚ 2nd Edition costs £7.99 and is available to customers from all good bookshops or direct from the publisher at Age Concern Books (Tel: 0870 44 22 120 / Web: www.ageconcern.org.uk/bookshop).

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

[1] P35 – Meeting the Challenges of Oral Health for Older People 2005

For further information

§         A reader discount of 20% is available off the RRP‚ plus P&P at £1.99

To request a jpeg of the book cover‚ a review copy‚ set up a competition‚ or to interview the author‚ please contact Anne- Marie Devaney on 020 8765 7511 or email anne-marie.devaney@ace.org.uk 
 
We are the largest organisation in the UK working for older people.  Everyday we are in touch with thousands of older people‚ enabling them to make more of life. Our services include information and advice‚ befriending‚ day centres‚ lunch clubs‚ transport services‚ home visits‚ and advocacy services. More information can be found on our website.

About the Book

Title: Your Rights to Healthcare‚ 2nd Edition
Subtitle: Helping older people get the best from the NHS
Author: Lorna Easterbrook
ISBN: 978-0-86242-422-0
Price: £7.99
Binding: Paperback
Author: Lorna Easterbrook

Lorna was Community Care Policy Officer at Age Concern England (1993-1998)‚ and Fellow in Community Care at the King’s Fund (1998-2000).  She is an experienced author‚ whose publications include the International review of interventions in falls in older people (Department of Trade and Industry‚ 2001)‚ Moving on from Community Care (Age Concern Books‚ 2003)‚ and Healthy Homes‚ Healthier Lives (Care & Repair England‚ 2002).

Age Concern also publishes a range of free fact sheets about health issues such as:

- NHS services

- Dental care

- Staying healthy in later life

These are available free of charge from our website or by calling the Age Concern Information Line on freephone 0800 00 99 66

To contact Age Concern’s book department‚ please call 0870 44 22 120 or alternatively write to Age Concern books department‚ Astral House‚ 1268 London Road‚ SW16 4ER.

For general enquiries please contact us.

Journalists contact:

Media contact:
Anne-Marie Devaney
Telephone:
020 8765 7511
Out of office hours:
07071 243 243
Email:
Media@ace.org.uk