Main description:

The authors of these papers vary in age, nationality and professional background. They share a belief that all too often older people are not treated justly or fairly, and also a belief that this is particularly true with regard to a proper respect for their dignity as people and a proper allocation of medical and social resources. Their papers, in various ways, give evidence as to what is happening and arguments, based on philosophical ethics, as to why it is wrong. The authors also have a range of proposals, backed by argument and evidence, and drawing on factual material as well as philosophical argument, as to what could be done to improve the situation. This is a book for anyone, whether themselves elderly, looking after an older person, professionally involved in working with older people, or simply realising that one day they will be old, who wants to learn about what is wrong with the present situation and how it might be made better.

Contents:

Dedication
Ruth Chadwick: Foreword
Preface
Harry Lesser: Introduction. The Present Situation: Diagnosis and Treatment
Peter Crome: Older People, Care, Dignity, and Human Rights
Andrew Edgar: Age, Dignity, and Social Policy
Beatriz Cardona: Dangers and Dilemmas Surrounding the Consumption of Anti-Ageing Medicine
Harry Lesser: Loneliness in Older Patients
Caroline Dunn: The Effect of Ageing on Autonomy
Ashish Goel, Wilma Wilson, and Ab Dey: Autonomy for Older Patients in Bedside Medicine: Observations from a Developing Nation
Harry Lesser: Intervention Without Patient Consent
Simona Giordano: Is a Gray World Desirable?
John Hostler: Personal Development in Old Age
Robin Attfield: The Global Distribution of Healthcare Resources in the Twenty-First Century
Margaret Harris: The Rival Claims of Children and Adults to Healthcare Resources: Is There a Need for Greater Coherence in Our View?
Michael Rivlin: Setting Limits Fairly: A Critique of Some of Daniel Callahan's Views
Richard Wagland: Social Injustice: Distributive Egalitarianism, the Complete-Life View, and Age Discrimination
Richard Wagland: A Fair Innings or a Complete Life: Another Attempt at an Egalitarian Justification of Ageism
Harry Lesser: Triage and Older Patients
Julian C. Hughes: Justice, Guidelines, and Virtues
About the Editor and Contributors
Index