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NHS chiefs tell grandmother, 61, she's 'too old' for £5,000 life-saving heart surgery
Last updated at 23:07pm on 29.02.08
Angry: Dorothy Simpson of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, was told she was too old for heart surgery at 61
Dorothy Simpson suffers from an irregular heartbeat and is at increased risk of a stroke. But health chiefs refused to allow the procedure which was recommended by her specialist.
The school secretary was stunned by the ruling.
"I can't believe that at 61 I'm too old for this operation," she said.
"A friend has had exactly the same thing done and it has changed his life.
"I feel as though I've been put out to grass and surely deserve better than this."
Mrs Simpson, of Leake, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, was diagnosed three years ago with atrial fibrillation, a condition suffered by a million people in the UK.
It can cause palpitations, heart failure, strokes, shortness of breath, chest pains and blackouts.
Drugs have had limited success and her hospital consultant decided the most effective treatment would be a procedure known as a catheter ablation.
An electrode on the tip of a long wire is manoeuvred through a vein or artery and destroys abnormal heart tissue causing the rhythm problems.
National guidelines set no age limit for the procedure, which is usually carried out under local anaesthetic and has a better than 75 per cent chance of curing the condition.
Her consultant's application for Mrs Simpson to have the operation was rejected in December.
The North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust is said to have cited her age as one of the reasons for refusal.
Mrs Simpson said: "'If I lived in another part of the country there wouldn't be a problem.
"The condition is very distressing and is now starting to affect my work.
"I'm generally an upbeat person but this sort of condition affects you more and more as time goes on, and attacks happen more often. What concerns me most is the risk of a stroke."
A spokesman for the Atrial Fibrillation Association said: "In this day and age when people are living longer, it is wrong that they should have the door to their future shut in their face."
However late yesterday, following media interest in Mrs Simpson's plight, the PCT backed down and agreed to fund her treatment.
Medical director Dr David Geddes apologised to Mrs Simpson for the "distress" caused by the delay.
He said: "We have reviewed the case in the light of the additional clinical information and national guidance and, as Mrs Simpson fits the clinical criteria, we have agreed funding for her treatment."
"All decisions are taken on individual clinical needs; we do not discriminate on the grounds of age.
"Our procedures exist to ensure fair decision-making, based on clinical evidence, for all our patients."
Reader views (8)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Why should Mrs Dorothy Simpson be refused her much needed NHS treatment? I do hope that ALL the Blair family are proud of Mr "Spin'll Fix-It's" legacy.
Perhaps Mr Brown's Cabinet & the Speaker in the House might be kind enough to put through some "extra expenses" this month (February 2008) and donate them to Mrs Dorothy Simpson so that she can get her medical treatment done PRIVATELY next month i.e. during March 2008?
- Fraser, Telford Park
I too suffer from Atrial Fibrillation. It is quite distressing. Explanations from doctors and a cardiac specialist have failed to tell me what exactly I should do when the attacks occur, what brings it on, and how I can prevent it. I take beta blockers with limited success, and when attacks of AF happen, they can last up to two days. I really need to have a one to one with a specialist who will answer all my questions and give proper and detailed advice. When I tried to quiz the doctor about the problem, he told me I worried too much and wanted to know too much and that I should leave all that to him. All very well, but he has hundreds of patients, I have only one of me. Since being diagnosed I have not been able to lead my normal lifestyle and get very depressed. More info,clearly given is needed, this might do away with the mystery that surrounds AF, but I fear the doctors don't really have the answers or the time to look into it all properly. I hope your lady in the story gets her operation and is able to return to normal life. It's a shame when NHS trusts are able to say yes or no to needed treatment based on their ability to pay for it. Good healthcare should be a right for all.
- Derek Hope, SIDCUP, KENT
While at the same time Conway gives £40,000 of our money to his effete son and more cash to his son's mate, and the Commons speaker uses £4,000 of taxpayers' money for his wife's taxis. DISGUSTING.
The only light on the horizon in this matter for this lady is that she presumably has the £5,000 herself to have the operation done.
In the past ten years I've spent about £10,000 on private health insurance premiums incidentally but am having to discontinue it owing to the enormous rate hikes every year, and as they increase the rates, they drop various features!
- Jimmy North, Lancs.
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